Boxoffice-March.31.1956

MARCH 31. 1956 

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SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN ADDED— An improved Showmandiser and BookinGuide section is introduced 

to BOXOFFICE readers with this issue, designed to provide the most compact and complete 

service on the booking and merchandising of motion pictures To facilitate the filing of any deportment 

or part thereof, the 16 pages of the section are perforated and punch-holed 

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i 

KEFAUVER 

REPORT ON 

FILM INDUSTRY 

Page 8 

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE EDITION 

ill Ntwl 

i t.r. ol All I

THE LOVE STORY OF A PRINCESS 

Grace 

Kelly . 

M-G-M presents 

Alec 

Guinness 

Louis Jourdan 

in 

THE SWA.N 

CINEMASCOPE • COLOR 

AGNES MOOREHEAD • 

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with 

JESSIE ROYCE LANDIS 

LEO G. CARROLL 

ESTELLE WINWOOD • VAN DYKE PARKS 

Screen Play by JOHN DlGHTON 

From the Play "The Swan" by FERENC MOLNAR 

Photographed in EASTMAN COLOR 

Directed by CHARLES VIDOR • Produced by DORE SCHARY 

(Available in Magnetic Stereophonic, Perspecta 

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THEY LINED UI 

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AND THEY'RE STI 

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CINEMASCOPE 

"The new milestone in 

motion picture history!" 

— Front-page, N. V. Journal-American 

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RODGERS AND 

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CAROUSEL 

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No changes required in the 

booths of theatres equipped 

for stereophonic sound!

W 

Yccôft^/Tfeti^r 

THE NATIONAL FILM WEEKLY 

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MARCH 

Vol. 68 

3 1, 19 5 6 

No. 23 

BEST FROM WITHIN 

ITTLL that is new was brought out 

in the hearings before the Senate Small Business 

Subcommittee that took place last week. 

That Hoes not necessarily prejudice the case one 

way or the other. However, the fact remains that 

much of the same ground, with the same argu 

ments, brought before the committee in 195:1. 

was covered again, the end result of which may. 

again, be a strong recommendation for the implementing 

of a svstem of arbitration. As to 

whether, this time, the recommendation will be 

one to include film rentals, remains to be seen. 

The testimony, written and oral, given by exhibitor 

leaders was by no means weak. But. 

with the exception of that given by Harn 

Brandt, of Independent Theatre Owners Ass"n. 

the emphasis was on governmental regulation 

one form or another. In that regard, Harry Arthur 

jr., of Southern California Theatre Owners 

Ass'n, came up with a new approach—establishment 

of a Fair Trade Practices Commission. 

The crux of the problem is that film is too low 

in supply and too high in cost, aggravated by increased 

operating costs and lowered attendance. 

If the first part of this two-part problem can be 

settled, the second part may more easily be borne. 

But. whether this can best be accomplished, if 

at all. by "force" through governmental agencies, 

is a moot question. In any event, buver-seller 

differences must be settled between them; but 

such settlement is not possible, when the means 

for bringing them together is 

lacking. 

The recommendation made in 1953, and reiterated 

openly or implied at the current hearings, 

that most of the troubles of the industry could be 

settled by negotiations inside the industry is a 

sound view. But it takes two to make a bargain 

and exhibitors can't bargain with company heads 

who decline to sit in conference with them, either 

singlv or collectively. The premise thai a joint 

session of this kind, participated in h\ all the 

distribution presidents, would constitute a violation 

of antitrust laws may be far-fetched. Cerlainlv, 

as Senator Humphrey pointed out, that 

could be verified through the Departmcni of 

Justice. 

Sinli a meeting could very well lead to 

an amicable solution of problems other than 

in 

jusl 

those involving product BUppl) and rentals. 

Moreover, determination ol this could come 

quickly. The gains resulting therefrom in the 

form of positive action would be far more beneficial 

to all branches of the industry than either 

side can ever hope to gain by the continual 

fighting, sucb as has been going on for all too 

many years. Bui. unless a spirit of compromise 

and sincerity of purpose an- Btrongly evidenced 

at such a meeting, there would be no point in 

convening 

it. 

The dog-eat-dog, hammer-and-tongs tactics 

that have persisted will make a shambles out 

of this great business; and. if allowed to continue, 

will, sooner or later, completely wreck it. 

Now, before "outsiders" help with that wrecking 

job. is the time to steer the industry onto a 

constructive course. It takes but a willingness 

to "give," as well as "take." for the parties at 

difference to 

among 

themselves. 

reach harmonious understanding 

* * 

Improving Our Services 

Seeking always to improve. BoxoFFICE this 

week brings out in new dress two of its longtime 

reader service sections—the Shoumandiser 

and BookinGuide. A number of changes have 

been effected, based on suggestions obtained in 

a survey made among our thousands of exhibitor 

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render the utmost in practical use-value. 

While some streamlining has been accomplished 

to conserve the reader's time, new production 

data has been added, some new 

features 

introduced, to make even more valuable this 

"Guide to Better Booking and Business-Building." 

This is achieved in several ways, not the lea-t 

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\Jfrtoj 

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: 

1 

VIOLENCE IN FILMS CRITICIZED 

IN SENATE COMMITTEE REPORT 

However, Kefauver Study 

Indicates Small Segment 

Of Industry Is Involved 

WASHINGTON—The Senate Subcommittee 

to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency 

issued its long-anticipated report on motion 

pictures this week. A certain portion of 

the industry was criticized for producing 

too many pictures which are overly brutal, 

violent or sadistic—types of film which 

the Committee declared "could provide the 

many so-called 'trigger mechanisms' that 

may initiate and provide the content for 

antisocial behavior on the part of emotionally 

disturbed children." 

CERTAIN TYPES HARMFUL 

The Committee, headed by Senator Estes 

Kefauver of Tennessee said "that while the 

previous reports on the mass media indicated 

that the degree of risk taken by adult society 

in showing these pictures to youth is of an 

unknown quantity, continued investigations 

have gathered overwhelming support for the 

conclusion that certain types of printed material 

and visual material are harmful." 

"It is quite clear that professional people 

generally view the presentation of brutality 

and violence in these media as definitely 

deleterious to the personality development of 

normal, predelinquent children," the Committee 

declared. 

The 122-page report, while critical of violence 

in films and overemphasis on sex in 

motion picture advertising, nevertheless did 

not serve as a publicity blast against the 

film industry. Much of it was of a constructive 

nature, and the Committee said it had 

no intention of suggesting any form of censorship. 

"Censorship, though its status is 

still unsettled, appears to have spent its 

force," was a comment in the report. 

Basically, the Committee thinks that the 

industry's self-regulatory machinery can do 

the policing job effectively, with some improvements. 

MAKES SIX 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The Committee submitted six principal 

recommendations 

"1. The consultation of professional people 

from the behavioral science by the Production 

Code Administration and the Advertising 

Code Administration. 

"2. The board of directors of the Motion 

Picture Ass'n inaugurate changes in the 

codes which are warranted in the light of the 

social changes which have taken place since 

they were written. An important function 

of the above organization would be to advertise 

the accomplishments of the codes to 

negate adverse criticism which arises as the 

result of public ignorance. 

"3. The movie industry should recognize 

the value of adhering to code policies and 

assume its proper place as an intelligent, objective 

reporter of social problems to better 

(Continued on page 10 

MPAA Told to Get With 

The Times on Its Code 

WASHINGTON—The Senate Subcommittee 

report on motion pictures and juvenile delinquency 

told the Production Code Administration, 

in effect, to 

keep up with the times. 

Said the Committee 

in its report published 

this week: 

"The subcommittee 

feels that while the 

basic principles are 

sound, some of the restrictions 

in terms of 

subject matter. for 

example, are not in 

keeping with the social 

Senator Kefauver changes that have 

Committee Chairman transpired since it was 

written." 

Social attitudes, comments the subcommittee, 

have changed since the Code was adopted. 

CITES TELEVISION GROWTH 

"While television has rendered hour after 

hour of drama dealing with many phases of 

various social problems, the Production Code 

still forbids the treatment of many of these 

subjects in motion pictures. The inequity of 

this situation is apparent, and indeed one independent 

producer is now making a film 

with a social problem in defiance of the 

Code. The publicity given this problem has 

indeed 'dated' the section of the Code forbidding 

its portrayal and the resultant revolt 

against it by indignant producers only 

tends to weaken the whole structure of selfregulation 

which has been developed in the 

last 30 years." 

The subcommittee said it felt that in the 

past the framework and administration of 

self-regulation "have been overly moralistic 

and too closely related to the immediate expediency 

of the motion picture industry." 

"This lack of flexibility of story content is 

not surprising in view of the social attitudes 

in existence at the time of the Code's inception. 

But a screen maturely performing the 

functions of mass communication demands a 

wide orientation. 

"What is needed now is an effort on the 

part of the industry itself to perform the 

positive function of enlarging the scope of 

the screen." 

The subcommittee told the industry to do 

something about it, and recommended that 

the board of the Motion Picture Ass'n "should 

utilize its authority to review and propose 

changes in the Motion Picture Production and 

Advertising Codes, since at present they do 

not encourage the screen in attaining its full 

stature as a civic and artistic medium." 

(Editor's Note: Within recent weeks, the 

Motion Picture Ass'n appointed a standing 

committee to re-examine the Code and make 

such recommendations as it feels are required.) 

In making these changes, the industryshould 

seek the consultation of responsible 

people representing diverse elements, including 

creative talents from within the industry, 

as well as educators, religious leaders and 

people trained in the behavioral sciences. 

The MPAA, said the subcommittee, should 

increase its efforts to re-examine the Code 

and function as a clearing house for criticism 

of films and suggestions for the broader use 

of the screen. 

The senators also suggested that the association 

inaugurate two other important continuing 

functions: (1) It should report annually 

to the public on the number and kind 

of rejections and changes which are made 

in the pictures during the production process: 

and (2) it should contest the decisions of 

censor boards which request additional 

changes or deletions and which the association 

believes are unwarranted. 

The subcommittee considers the first of 

these recommendations as of great importance 

because "without public review, the work of 

any private regulatory agency is open to 

abuse. Many of the most objectionable films 

in terms of public complaints have been 

changed drastically by the Production Code 

staff, and because the final version of the 

film may not have been to the liking of 

many people, the Code has been unfairly 

criticized." 

URGE CODE FOR TV FILMS 

The report also recommended that film 

companies producing motion pictures for television 

submit these pictures to the Code Administration 

for a seal. 

The solution, the subcommittee feels, is improved 

self-regulation, "which is orientated 

to the needs of a mature screen purveying 

meaningful entertainment to mass audiences 

and which is entered into freely by the movie 

companies. 

"The Production Code Administration has 

demonstrated that the control of pictures 

during the process of their production is, 

in the main, very sound. The technique now 

needs to be adapted to the demands of the 

widened social sphere which filmmakers have 

acquired." 

In short, comments the subcommittee, it 

believes that "the movies can realize their 

full promise only by unremitting effort from 

all concerned—the government, the industry 

and the public—each in its own sphere. It 

further believes that the industry, possessing 

most of the means, can cure the most serious 

ills of its own volition." 

BOXOFFICE March 31. 1956

COMPANY ATTORNEYS PREPARE 

REPLY TO EXHIBITOR CHARGES 

Opposition to Arbitrating 

Film Rentals Continues; 

No Change Expected 

NEW YORK—Distributor attorneys are 

mapping their strategy in advance of the 

resumption of hearings by the Senate Small 

Business Subcommittee. They met Wednesday 

1 28) at the Motion Picture Ass'n of 

America headquarters to go over transcripts 

of the testimony taken during two days 

from exhibitors. 

ANTICIPATE RENTALS BALK 

About the only thing that can be predicted 

in advance is a refusal on the part of the 

major companies to arbitrate film rentals. 

As had been predicted, the arbitration 

draft from which Theatre Owners of America 

withdrew its approval prior to the hearings 

was sent to the Senate Committee and to the 

Department of Justice before the Wednesday 

and Thursday (21, 22) sessions. No mention 

was made of this during the hearings, however. 

There had been unsubstantiated reports 

that distributors might soften their attitude 

toward arbitration of film rentals, but the 

arbitration plan as submitted was the same 

as that from which TOA withdrew. That left 

it with only approval of the Motion Picture 

Ass'n members and the Independent Theatre 

Owners Ass'n of New York. 

Distributor representatives at the hearings 

obtained copies of the transcript of the testimony 

early in the week. 

The present expectation is that Senator 

Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, chairman, 

will call for a resumption about May 15. 

and that the distributors will finish in one 

day. No decision had been reached at midweek 

on who would offer the testimony. 

Several companies will be represented. 

Adolph Schimel, vice-president and general 

counsel of Universal-International, was 

distributor representative on the committee 

that negotiated the arbitration draft, so he 

is generally regarded as the probable spokesman. 

Distribution, naturally, would not comment 

on its plans for rebuttals to exhibitor 

testimony. Schimel said it would have to be 

thoroughly studied before deciding on a 

definite course of action. 

CHARGES INACCURACIES 

While attending the Washington hearings, 

Schimel exclaimed that exhibition had made 

inaccurate and excessive statements. At the 

time it was said—and it seems to hold true 

now—that one part of the reply to exhibition 

will challenge the statement that distributors 

took advantage of the admission tax 

cut to increase rentals. The reply is expected 

to cite increasing production costs and finer 

quality of pictures. 

Distribution also is expected to stress that 

exhibition based its charges on mention of a 

relatively few pictures that were not typical 

instances. 

Some time within the next three or four 

days it is expected that Abram F. Myers of 

Allied will file a statement in reply to the 

Blank Favors Senate Poll 

On Fair Trade Practices 

NEW YORK—Myron N. Blank, Theatre 

Owners of America president, is in favor of 

a national poll by the Senate Small Business 

Committee to find out exhibitors' attitudes 

on some of the controversial problems 

agitating the industry. 

The idea was first advanced while Harry 

Brandt, president of the Independent Theatre 

Owners Ass'n of New York, was testifying 

before the Senate Small Business Subcommittee 

Thursday (22). He was challenging testimony 

previously presented by Abram F. 

Myers, National Allied's general counsel, when 

Senator Hubert H. Humphrey interrupted to 

He enlarged on the idea at a 

comment that it was often better to get information 

directly from those concerned 

rather than from their attorneys or agents. 

This caused Brandt to suggest the Committee 

take a poll. 

press conference after the hearing. Since 

then there has been widespread discussion 

of the idea. Some say that Senate committees 

have conducted their own polls in the past, 

others disagree. 

Blank was asked what he thought of the 

proposal. He replied: 

"I would favor a poll of exhibitors on 

testimony of Harry Brandt, president of the 

ITOA of New York. 

Congress has set July 1 as the target for an 

adjournment date, so members can get back 

into their home territories for campaigning. 

Just when the Committee will file a report 

on the hearings is mostly guess work. These 

reports are usually prepared by members of 

the staffs of different committees, so that 

it would be possible to have one complete 

before adjournment. 

Johnston Leaving India 

For Stopover in Rome 

NEW YORK—Eric Johnston, president of 

the Motion Picture Export Ass'n, was in 

India during the week on his round-the-world 

business trip and planned to arrive in Rome 

April 3 where Italian laboratories are demanding 

a greater share of American color 

film printing. 

Johnston may also stop over in the Middle 

East, scene of severe tensions, where he has 

been acting as special envoy of President 

Eisenhower in trying to negotiate a division 

of the Jordan River water supply between 

Israel and the Arab nations. He is expected 

back in the U. S. in about a week. 

One of the most important problems Johnston 

will tackle soon after his return will be 

revisions in the production and advertising 

codes. 

trade practices by the Senate Small Business 

Committee." 

Brandt, it was learned, has asked Senator 

Humphrey to prepare a questionnaire. Blank 

said he doubted, however, whether the Committee 

would do it. 

Myers, on the other hand thinks such a poll 

would be "needless and academic." Allied is 

polling its members constantly, he commented. 

Senate committees have conducted polls, he 

said, but there have been few of them. Off 

hand, he said, he could recall only two of 

them, one by the Small Business Committee 

among retail 

druggists. 

TOA conducted a poll among members 

prior to the Small Business Committee hearings. 

The replies were not used at the hearings, 

and Blank explained this by saying an 

analysis of the replies had been made and it 

had been prepared, but that its preparation 

had been premature because it was apparent 

exhibitors wanted to learn the results of the 

Washington hearings. 

If another is sent out under TOA auspices, 

it will have to be approved in advance by 

the directors, he said. 

Technicolor 1955 Profit 

Reaches $2,064,820 

NEW YORK — Technicolor had a net 

profit of $2,064,820, equal to $1.03 a share, for 

1955. Dr. Herbert T. Kalmus, president and 

general manager, made known in his annual 

report to stockholders. The previous year the 

earnings amounted to S2.319.160. or $1.18 a 

share. Consolidated profit for 1955 before 

taxes totaled $4,108,980. compared with $4.- 

901,178 for 1954. 

Optimism for the future was expressed by 

Dr. Kalmus. despite the decrease last year. 

when 73 color features were processed and 

sales totaled $32,418,069. compared with $34.- 

654.980 the previous year. 

The year was closed in a strong liquid position, 

with $13,931,121 in current assets 

against $4,372,796 in current liabilities. Dividends 

from Technicolor. Ltd.. British affiliate, 

totaled S166.361 after British taxes. 

A total of 76 Technicolor features are either 

under contract or in preparation for 1956. 

with 14 others now shooting or preparing 

under the British affiliate, which processed 

40 features last year. 

Output of Technicolor 35mm positive prints 

in 1955 was 488.689.604 feet 1 1954—529.906.813 

feet). 

Technicolor directors have voted a dividend 

of 25 cents per share on the common, 

payable April 17 to stockholders of record at 

the close of business April 6. 

BOXOFFICE March 31. 1956 

9

Cinerama Plans Expansion 

Into Seven More Cities 

Kansas City, Omaha, Salt Lake City, Toronto, 

Cleveland, Denver and Miami Beach 

to follow the April 2 opening at Atlanta and 

the May 21 start at Oklahoma City; 15 spots 

now operating; Europe has six shows. 

Toll TV Problem Scheduled 

For Senate Probe April 23 

Interstate and foreign commerce committee 

to hear opponents and proponents and inquire 

into how far the service might be expanded: 

hearings just finished by committee 

on UHF and VHF radio situation. 

M.P. Industry Council Strikes Back 

At Report; Suspicious of Politics 

HOLLYWOOD—A strongly worded rebuttal 

to a report issued in Washington by the 

Senate Juvenile Deliquency Subcommittee, 

criticizing filmdom for alleged sadism and 

brutality in its screen fare, was forthcoming 

Tuesday (27) from the Motion Picture Industry 

Council, dedicated to improving the 

trade's over-all public relations. Speaking 

for the MPIC its president, actor Ronald 

Reagan, said the committee's investigation 

and findings were "based on the testimony of 

a few prejudiced witnesses who have a long 

record of seeking to impose thought control 

on the entire entertainment industry." 

Timing of the probe, said Reagan, "smacks 

very suspiciously of politics, coming as it 

does in the heat of a primary campaign." 

This reference undoubtedly was to the fact 

that the Senate group has as its chairman 

Sen. Estes Kefauver, actively campaigning for 

ihe Democratic presidential nomination. 

"All the evidence that we have been able 

to gather," added the MPIC statement, "from 

competent medical authorities is the reverse 

of their findings. We do not feel that any 

emotionally disturbed child should be submitted 

to any kind of stimulating experience, 

and that includes motion pictures. 

"I doubt very much," Reagan continued, 

"if the motion picture industry would find it 

profitable to make 350 pictures a year and 

aim them at emotionally disturbed children." 

RKO Theatres Gets Delay 

On Met Stock Disposal 

George Alger, trustee for old Fox Metropolitan 

stock, allowed by court to postpone 

action to end of April; proposed amendment 

to consent decree also up for consideration. 

• 

Denmark's Rental Ceiling 

Up for More Discussion 

G. Griffith Johnson of MPEA going to 

Copenhagen after conferring with continental 

managers in Paris; American companies 

withholding films because of 40 per cent 

ceiling, and imports from elsewhere fail to 

fill Danish needs. 

• 

Mario Lanza Signed to Star 

In Another for Warners 

Feature, not yet titled, will be a romantic 

drama with music, written by Philip Yordan, 

produced by Henry Blanke and directed by 

Anthony Mann, who functioned in those respective 

capacities on "Serenade," current 

release; camera work to start in June. 

Gotthard Doerschel Named 

20ih-Fox Head in Germany 

Murray Silverstone names former sales 

manager to take posts left vacant by death 

of Robert A. Kreiter; Doerschel will operate 

under general supervision of Albert Cornfield, 

managing director for Europe. 

* 

Republic Expects 50% Rise 

In Foreign Market Gross 

Reginald Armour, Republic Pictures International 

vice-president, predicts increase in 

business in 1956 over 1955; foreign business 

accounts for 40 per cent of the company's 

total 

gross. 

• 

20th-Fox Earnings for 1955 

Drop Under 1954 Figure 

Net for 53 weeks ending Dec. 31, 1955 is 

$6,025,039 compared to $8,044,524 for 52-week 

period in previous fiscal year. Fourth quarter 

earnings down from $2,312,461 to $1,578,188. 

Committee Report 

(Continued from page 8) 

prepare the viewing audience in understanding 

and coping with them. 

"4. The public should recognize the potential 

they have in shaping the policy of film 

makers, who are very sensitive to the demands 

of the motion picture public. 

"5. The development of research projects 

in universities to study the effects of all 

phases of the mass media and the development 

of criteria which can be used to develop 

presentations that can contribute to the 

ability of this country's future citizens to become 

productive and law-abiding. 

"6. The major studios which also produce 

movies for television should submit these 

films for the Production Code Seal of 

Approval." 

The hearings were conducted with the cooperation 

of the Motion Picture Ass'n which 

supplied correspondence relating to preparation 

of scripts and advertising and encouraged 

well-known industry figures to testify. 

The Committee reported on what it 

called a "trend toward cinematic sadism." 

The Committee favored the use of experts 

from the various fields of human behavior 

by the two code staffs and suggested that the 

MPA report annually to the public on "the 

number and kind of rejections and changes 

which are made in pictures during the production 

process." 

On the engagement of outside experts, the 

Committee said it had received suggestions 

that the Production Code Administration consult 

social scientists on such subjects as 

violence and sex in motion pictures. "From 

discussions with the staff of both codes, the 

subcommittee feels that the utilization of the 

knowledge which obtains in the social-psychological 

fields would be of greater value to 

both codes. With their knowledge of the 

motivating forces of human behavior, these 

professionals can readily perceive harmful 

film content that may be overlooked by people 

not trained to do so. The subcommittee, 

therefore, endorses the use of professional 

knowledge by the code staffs, and conceivably 

a relationship could be established with the 

fine universities located close to both offices." 

It commented on motion picture advertising 

as follows: "All too often the advertising is 

entirely misleading and does not come close 

to honestly describing the film it is supposed 

to represent." 

Hearings on these topics were held in Los 

Angeles June 16 and 17, 1955. Lists of pictures 

were supplied to the subcommittee's 

staff and these were screened. 

The motion picture report was the third 

in a three -part study of mass media conducted 

by the subcommittee. The others concentrated 

on comic books and TV. 

"With the advent of superior technical devices, 

such as widescreens, stereophonic sound 

and Technicolor, the impact of a single motion 

picture is many times greater than that 

of a single presentation in either a comic 

book or on a television screen," the report 

states. 

Among other things, the Committee sent 

out 180 questionnaires to members of the 

Medical Correctional Ass'n and the American 

Academy of Forensic Sciences "to determine 

the relationship between crime and violence 

in motion pictures and juvenile delinquency." 

In the course of the report the Committee 

stated that "with the production of crime 

and western movies" the Committee found 

a trend "toward overmuch bloodshed and brutality," 

and also that "producers and directors 

have increasingly emphasized sadism, 

brutality and violence." 

In discussing the Production Code, the report 

stated: 

"The overwhelming evidence gathered by 

the subcommittee indicates that the mass 

media, including the movies, definitely shape 

attitudes, and, therefore, in varying degrees, 

the behavior of youth. While the Motion 

Picture Production Code was developed on 

this assumption, the code administrators 

seem to be giving it up in favor of so-called 

realism. This surrender to realism involves 

not only the actual provisions of the code, 

but the spirit of the code." 

The report indicated the following reasons 

for this trend: 

"1. The threat of television is making producers 

take greater license in order to meet 

the competition; (2) the feeling on the part 

of motion picture people that this is what 

the public wants to see; (3) increasing resistance 

on the part of some Hollywood producers 

to what they feel to be unfair restrictions 

in the Production Code, and (4) the 

feeling on the part of the code administrators 

that television has taken over the large 

child audience that heretofore went to the 

movies, thereby lessening their responsibility 

to children." 

10 BOXOFFICE March 31, 1956

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PROPOSAL FOR FAIR PRACTICES 

COMMISSION NEW TRADE ANGLE 

So. California Ass'n Says 

D of J Not Proper Agency 

To Police Film Industry 

WASHINGTON—The recommendation of 

the Southern California Theatre Owners Ass'n 

that Congress create a fair trade practices 

commission for the motion picture industry 

opened a new channel of thinking in exhibitor 

circles. There was no conjecture, however, 

on the chances such a recommendation 

will have with members of the Senate's 

select committee which heard exhibitor 

complaints on trade matters last week. It 

was to this group that the California theatre 

association directed its views. 

NEED FOR PERMANENT CONTROL 

In the opinion of the association, the Department 

of Justice "should not be considered 

the proper agency to administer permanent 

control over the motion picture industry." 

The personnel of the Justice Department, 

said Harry C. Arthur Jr., chairman of the 

board, properly is devoted to its primary function 

of enforcing law. "The administration 

by such an enforcement agency of an American 

industry and the formulation of rules for 

the operation of that industry can have but 

little real benefit to the day-to-day operation 

of that business." 

Allied States Ass'n, through its witnesses 

at the Senate hearing last week, had urged 

the Committee to "nudge" the Department 

of Justice into more vigorous enforcement of 

provisions of the antitrust decrees. If this 

does not bring results, then, said Allied 

spokesmen, legislation should be enacted to 

provide for federal regulation of film prices. 

Allied's government control thinking does not 

extend to the fair trade practices commission 

plan propounded by SCTOA. 

"It is simply that, while a prosecutor is of 

great assistance in apprehending law violators 

and in making sure that the violation of 

the penal law does not go unpunished under 

the American system of law, it has never been 

considered desirable to merge the function 

of prosecutor with that of the administrator, 

or administrative agency, that acts in a 

quasi-judicial function," it was pointed out. 

DANGER TO SMALL BUSINESSES 

The association warned "that certain 

conditions exist in the motion picture exhibition 

business which, if continued, will destroy 

most if not all of the so-called small business 

people now engaged in that business." 

These conditions, said the California association, 

can result in a situation where only 

the giants of production and their exhibition 

offspring will be left to share the fruits of 

the industry. 

"The legal separation from their parent 

organizations appears to have left a mutuality 

of interest that still presents, in many areas, a 

substantial barrier to the independent competing 

exhibitor," the SCTOA charged. 

The California views were contained in a 

letter sent to the Committee. 

List Five Conditions Within Industry 

Which So. Calif. Assn Wants Corrected 

WASHINGTON—In its letter to the Senate 

Committee hearing exhibitors on trade 

practices, the Southern California Theatre 

Owners Ass'n pinpointed the following five 

conditions which it said existed in the film 

industry and needed correction: 

1. "Admission prices should not be controlled 

by producer or distributor. 

"This, at first glance, obviously is merely 

a restatement of a principle long recognized 

as basic in the economy of this country, a 

principle clearly and unequivocally restated 

by the Supreme Court of the United States 

in the leading case affecting this very industry. 

It is a principle in the enforcement 

on which the Department of Justice has announced 

full dedication. Even the producers 

and distributors do not fail to emphasize their 

recognition of this principle. They tell the 

exhibitor they do not control his admission 

price; they only want to know what it will 

be, or what he intends it to be. The exhibitor 

knows, and they want him to know, and 

they tell him that they will formulate thensales 

policy, so far as he is concerned, accordingly. 

"This subtle control of admission prices is 

exercised effectively, no matter how euphemistically 

it may be described by the Department 

of Justice. The various consent decrees, 

it may be recalled, enjoined the 'granting of 

any license in which minimum prices for admission 

to a theatre are fixed by the parties, 

either in writing or through a committee, or 

through arbitration, or upon the happening 

of any event or in any manner or by any 

means.' 

2. "If bidding is to be used as substitute for 

negotiation, bidding should be made according 

to clear and definite specifications re- 

Parking Lot Charge Freed 

From the Admission Tax 

New York — Parking lot charges deducted 

from the price of a theatre ticket 

are not subject to the ticket tax under the 

terms of a ruling handed down by the 

Internal Revenue Department. 

The subject first came up when a theatre 

made an arrangement with a parking 

lot operator in a large city for a 

special evening parking rate of 25 cents. 

Upon payment of the parking charge, the 

patron is given a receipt which, when 

presented to the cashier of the theatre, 

entitles him to a credit for the amount 

paid on the charge for admission. A 

special admission ticket is issued to these 

patrons. Only one such admission is 

granted for each car parked. 

No part of the parking charges is received 

bv the theatre. 

quested by the distributor in writing, and the 

successful bid should be disclosed, unless the 

bids have been rejected. 

"Bidding as now used in many cases has 

merely been a device for the distributor to 

raise the licensing terms to an abnormal degree, 

or as a means for the distributor to 

escape detection In unreasonably favoring one 

competitor over another for reasons extraneous 

to the particular situation. If bidding 

were according to clear and definite specifications 

requested by the dstributor in writing, 

and if there should be frank disclosure of the 

successful bid, the exhibitor could reasonably 

be assured that bidding was being used In 

good faith. 

URGE RIGHT TO PRODUCE 

3. "Theatre-owning companies should be 

allowed to engage In picture production, provided 

there is no cross-licensing, and their 

favoring their own theatres should be limited 

to their present theatres. 

"The greatest problem of motion picture 

exhibitors today is the abnormally high cost 

of film brought about through the contraction 

of supply. Whether this contraction has been 

brought about by covert and conspiratorial 

action among producers and distributors, or 

is the result of the recognition of these persons, 

independently, of a simple principle of 

economics that the contraction of supply, 

greatly below the demand, gives an automatic 

control to the suppliers, is beside the point. 

The fact is that contraction has taken place 

and the desired result has, fortuitously or 

otherwise, been achieved. 

NEED FOR INDEPENDENTS 

"One way of breaking this control and attempting 

to restore to some closer balance the 

supply and the demand, is, of course, to encourage 

others to enter production. The 

natural self-interest of the theatreowning 

companies for survival will cause them to add 

to the supply to a great extent, and such 

increase in supply cannot but help the small 

businessman in this industry, provided that 

such entry into production is subject to certain 

reasonable limitations, lest there be but 

a rebirth of cross-licensing, with its consequent 

strangulation of all competition, and 

the division of the market among the favored 

few. And the large exhibitor companies 

should not be permitted to use the opportunity 

to engage in production to foster an 

unreasonable growth in the number of their 

theatres. Such combination of production facilities 

and exhibition outlets would be bound 

to result in the same power to monopolize 

and restrain that the government sought to 

eliminate by divorcement. 

4. "Arbitration is not objectionable provided 

it is available to those who wish it. is 

not forced upon those who do not. and is not 

(Continued on page 16> 

BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 15

Big 'Boxtop Promotion Opens in A/.Y. So. Calif. Proposal 

First Run Theatres Join Tie-In 

NEW YORK—The big boxtop promotion 

tieing motion picture theatres into the same 

type merchandising stimulant which has been 

selling breakfast foods for years got underway 

in the metropolitan area this week. 

The New York Times carried a full-page 

advertisement announcing the promotion in 

the Sunday (25) issue. The idea is a creation 

of Cinema Diorama Advertisers, Inc., which 

is headed by Ben Martin. At the start, 187 

theatres, or about 30 per cent of all theatres 

in the area, are in on the deal. 

The promotion is not a neighborhood theatre 

plan, aimed at the smaller theatre. 

Participating theatres include the first run 

Paramount on Broadway; the first run 

Brooklyn Paramount and the Baronet which 

is a first run art theatre. 

Two proofs of purchase from the participating 

brands, plus $1.50, will give consumers 

$2 worth of movie admissions, good at all 

times, including Saturdays, Sundays and 

holidays, in participating theatres. This plan, 

in effect, represents a consumer's savings 

of 25 per cent on price of admission to these 

theatres. 

Also included are the Academy, Nemo, Jefferson, 

Riverside and Riviera, subsequent runs 

in Manhattan, as well as subsequents in 

Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, Nassau and 

Rockland Counties and theatres in Newark 

and other cities in New Jersey. 

The products will be limited to non competitive 

ones, including: Scott's Facial Tissue, 

Borden's Starlac and Instant Coffee, Good 

Luck Margarine, Ipana Toothpaste and Hoffman 

Beverages. Patrons who send two labels 

or boxtops from these products, along with 

$1.50 will receive a $2 book of movie tickets 

good at all theatres or at any one group of 

theatres, as listed in full-page ads in the 

Sunday New York Times and in local papers 

March 26. The other New York papers will 

run the ads in subsequent weeks, as will additional 

local papers, up into July, according 

to Cinema Diorama. 

Cinema Diorama Advertisers has installed 

Concessions Conference 

In Chicago April 4 

CHICAGO—A theatre concessions clinic 

will be one of three sessions scheduled for 

a Midwest regional "Popcorn Sell-O-Rama" 

to be held Wednesday April 4 at the Hotel 

Sherman here. The conference is one of a 

series being held throughout the country by 

the Popcorn and Concessions Ass'n, formerly 

the International Popcorn Ass'n. 

The theatre clinic will not be devoted to 

popcorn exclusively. Beverages, candy, ice 

cream and concessions equipment will also be 

discussed under the leadership of J. J. Fitzgibbons 

jr., Theatre Confections, Ltd., Toronto; 

Bert Nathan, Theatre Popcorn Vending 

Corp., Brooklyn; Lester Grand, Confection 

Cabinet Corp., Chicago. 

At a joint luncheon of theatre concessions 

operators, manufacturers and jobbers and 

distributors, an industrywide panel will discuss 

the general subject "How to Sell More 

Popcorn." The meetings are open to all 

persons interested in popcorn and the concessions 

business. 

Plan 

Save 25 °o Every Time 

You Go To The Movies! 

EICH IIIEI FROM THESE PRODUCTS ^S 

IS BORTH IS. TOWAIIO HOD USE 

OF MOVIE (OMISSIONS 

Ad in Sunday N. Y. Times 

animated display units in leading supermarkets 

in the metropolitan area to promote 

the plan at the point of purchase. The promotion 

will also expand nationally, starting 

with Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit 

and Cleveland. 

Cinema Diorama Advertisers anticipates 

that the demand for the participating 

products will be so great that it will create 

"near capacity" business in these movie theatres, 

especially as movies are enjoyed by 

all age groups of both sexes. It has a continuous 

interest each time the movie at 

these houses changes, the advertiser says. 

'Bumped" Projectionist 

Asks Unemployment Pay 

MINNEAPOLIS—The state industrial commission 

has under advisement a new question 

regarding unemployment compensation for a 

theatre employe. 

For the first time a theatre booth projectionist 

has asked for unemployment compensation 

after being bumped off by his 

union in favor of a booth operator with higher 

seniority. 

Inasmuch as it had nothing to do with 

the removal of the projectionist, Walter 

Mourindille, the independent neighborhood 

Avalon Theatre opposed the compensation. 

Ends Theatre Partnership 

NEW YORK—Walter Reade Theatres has 

given up its 50 per cent interest in the Bridge 

Theatre, San Francisco, which it has operated 

jointly with Schwarz Theatres of California 

since October 1953. The theatre has been 

playing art films. 

Continued from page 15) 

merely a ruse to lull into belief that the 

underlying improper, unfair and often illegal 

practices in the industry are subject to correction 

through such means. 

"No clear-thinking, fair-minded American 

businessman objects to arbitration in principle, 

any more than he would object to the 

concept of liberty as a matter of principle. 

But he well knows that either may be used 

as a diversion by those who would serve another 

purpose, mouthing the principle but 

failing to follow through in practice. So it is 

with the proposed arbitration system for the 

motion picture industry. In it there is some 

good, but it is being used to secure judicial 

recognition of a prerelease practice that should 

be condemned as the granting of an indirect, 

unreasonable clearance. But, more insidiously, 

it is being offered as a solution of the industry's 

problems; when in fact, it can have 

little influence to affect the unreasonable 

control of the market and the subtle but 

effective control of the admission price. 

TO 

ADMINISTER FAIR TRADE 

5. "A fair trade practices commission should 

be established to evolve and adopt and then 

to administer rules of fair trade in this 

industry. 

"It is our belief that no real condition of 

competition in the motion picture industry 

will ever exist, if that industry is to have the 

making of its rules of competition left to 

the whim and caprice of the most powerful in 

that industry. It is almost trite to repeat a 

simple principle of human relations that the 

strong and powerful feel no substantial impulsion 

to protect the small and relatively 

weak competitors. It may easily be conceded 

that the multiplicity of suits by the Department 

of Justice against the large film companies 

and the hundreds of complainants in 

private antitrust suits prove without question 

that some control of the industry by a legal 

agency is required. 

"Therefore, we recommend to the subcommittee 

for the consideration of the Congress 

the creation of a fair trade practices commission 

authorized and empowered to evolve and 

adopt rules of fair competition, after proper 

hearing, and then to administer the enforcement 

of those rules of fair competition. Such 

a commission backed by the scope of experience 

that it will develop, specialized and 

trained both to hear and consider the needs 

of the industry, can act promptly and fairly 

in relation to that industry, and will restore 

and assure in the motion picture industry 

equal opportunity to all to compete under 

the American system of rules and regulations 

openly arrived at, openly administered, and 

applicable to all without discrimination." 

Walter Wanqer Reported 

Resting Comfortably 

HOLLYWOOD—Following a heart attack 

which his physician described as "mild," producer 

Walter Wanger was reported resting 

comfortably at midweek at Cedars of Lebanon 

hospital. He will remain in the hospital 

for about two weeks for rest and observation. 

Resultantly, the starting date of "Underdog," 

the first in a group of six pictures which 

Wanger will make for RKO Radio release, has 

been pushed back from April to May. 


says: 

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handicaps" {biggest 

blizzard in 8 fears.) 

"LUSH in Buffalo" 

"SOLID in St. Louis" 

V®K)®@(Si?Q9(L everywhere! 

ASK 

M-G-M

HEAVY SNOW A JOLT TO DRIVE-INS 

NE Boxoffice Upsurge 

Hit by Three Storms 

PROVIDENCE—Three major snowstorms 

in eight days dumped more than 40 inches of 

snow over the area and brought a halt to 

the steady upsurge of business New England 

theatres have been experiencing in recent 

weeks. 

The third snow started late Friday night 

(23) and continued all day Saturday, crippling 

the state and seriously affecting weekend 

business. The latest storm brought seven 

inches of snow, after the March 16 and 

March 19 storms left an accumulation of 35 

inches. 

NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE 

The third storm caused no physical damage 

to theatres. During the second blizzard, 

however, the marquee at the Uptown, Broadway 

neighborhood house, crashed, injuring a 

Providence woman. Henry Cipriano, owner of 

the theatre, blamed the crash on the gale 

winds rather than the weight of the snow. 

He estimated the damage to the Uptown at 

$20,000. 

Although communications were still out, it 

was believed that the accident at the Uptown 

was the only theatre loss suffered as a direct 

result of the three blizzards. 

Drive-in theatres, the two or three that 

were able to secure plowing equipment to 

clear away a few spaces for weekend patrons, 

were completely isolated by the first storm. 

Most theatres were kept closed as radio and 

TV bulletins were issued forbidding motorists 

to enter the downtown area. Transit operations 

collapsed entirely; subscribers were 

urged to use telephones only in grave emergencies, 

and downtown Providence, Pawtucket, 

Woonsocket, and other cities and 

towns were virtually ghost towns. 

The original blizzard on March 16 also 

brought Boston 19.5 inches of snow and forced 

many outlying theatres to close their doors before 

the evening shows, although all the first 

runs in the downtown sector remained open 

during the height of the blizzard. On Saturday, 

when the snow had ceased, theatres also 

suffered while householders concentrated on 

the task of digging themselves out of the 

drifts. On Sunday, when the sun at last 

appeared, theatre business was so good in 

the first runs and neighborhoods that grosses 

bettered the previous Sunday. 

BUSINESS IS NONEXISTENT 

Monday (19), when the second storm arrived 

with 15.4 inches of snow, theatre income 

practically ceased. All first runs remained 

open for regular shows with attendance 

one-quarter of normalcy. Offices 

closed at 1 p. m. and the department stores 

an hour later. With interurban transportation 

at a standstill, office workers who had no 

other place to go attended the haven of the 

downtown theatres. 

Film transportation ceased when state 

police ordered all trucks off the highways. 

This forced some outlying theatres to hold 

over their current programs for Monday. 

Film Exchange Transfer Co., largest of the 

film deliveries, reported that all trucks were 

on regular schedules the following day when 

the roads were partially cleared. 

The blizzards stopped the drive-ins for at 

least another fortnight. Several larger ozoners 

had already opened their gates for the 1956 

season when the storms raged in. 

Although the use of snow plows to remove 

the heavy snow covering a drive-in is 

always precarious, Smith Management Co. 

ordered motorized plows to go over the 

exits and entrances of its New England 

airers and remove the top layer of snow on 

the ramps. The sun assisted in melting off 

some of the rest of the ramp coverage, abetted 

by hand-shovelers. At the Natick Drivein 

five big drifts accumulated in the middle 

of the theatre, covering the west ends of 

both concessions buildings to the eaves. Some 

damage was reported to the neon lights on 

the marquee. A company official said the 

circuit hoped to have all its theatres in the 

East back in full swing for the Easter weekend. 

Philip Smith, president of Smith Management 

who has been in Palm Beach for 

two months, chose his return to the office to 

coincide with the first of the three storms. 

AS A PLACE OF REFUGE 

John O'Hallorhan, manager of Lockwood 

& Gordon's Braintree Theatre had WBZ announce 

Friday afternoon (16) that the show 

was off for the evening but that the theatre 

would be open as a place of refuge for 

stranded, weary travelers to get warmth and 

rest. About 75 persons took advantage of the 

offer. O'Hallorhan served them hot coffee 

and gave them a musical program over the 

sound system. He gave the night off to his 

staff and welcomed the visitors himself. 

Harry Golden, manager of the State Theatre, 

Saugus, was forced to spend Monday 

night snowbound in his theatre although his 

home was only four miles away. 

In New Haven, after the first two blizzards 

dumped 21.7 inches of snow from Friday to 

Monday, one major downtown house sold 

less than 200 tickets Monday (19). Others 

fared slightly better. Many drive-ins which 

had scheduled mid-March openings cancelled 

showings. The Bowl Drive-In, West 

Haven, set its opening for Easter weekend. 

U-I Reissuing Tap Roots' 

HOLLYWOOD — Universal-International's 

reissue of "Tap Roots," Van Heflin-Susan 

Hayward starrer first released in 1948, has 

been set for several territorial openings during 

the Easter holidays. It has already begun 

re-runs in New Orleans and Atlanta. Being 

paired with it in double-bill situations is an 

Audie Murphy starrer, "Kansas Raiders." 

Norman Louden Joins RKO 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—Norman Louden 

has been named manager of advertising, publicity 

and exploitation for RKO in Australia. 

He succeeds Joe Joel, who resigned. Louden 

was with Warner Bros, for 20 years. For the 

past year he has been with a screen advertising 

company. 

Federal Tax Called 

Just 'Penny Wise 

NEW YORK—The existence of theatres 

with a combined valuation of $1,457,800,000 

is threatened by continuation of the federal 

admission tax which yields $80,000,000 annually, 

according to a Council of Motion Picture 

Organizations ad in the March 24 issue 

of Editor & Publisher. The ad is the 61st 

in the series. 

Under the heading, "Penny Wise . . . 

$1,457,800,000 Foolish," the ad says: 

"Of the country's 19,200 theatres, 10,200 

pay an admission tax of 10 per cent on all 

admissions over 50 cents. This tax last year 

amounted to $80,000,000. 

"There are 10,900 theatres in financial distress—5,200 

actually in the red, 5,700 near 

the break-even point. The siphoning-off of 

10 per cent of these theatres' receipts is one 

of the principal causes of this condition. 

And if this siphoning-off continues, it is 

obvious many theatres will have to close. 

"On the other hand, repeal of the tax, so 

that theatres could keep the money they now 

turn over to the government, would restore 

them to economic health. Repeal, moreover, 

would not mean that the government would 

lose all of the $80,000,000 the tax yields. It 

is estimated that an increase in corporation 

taxes which would inevitably follow admission 

tax repeal would amount to $32,000,000. 

"Thus, all the government would actually 

give up if the tax were repealed would be 

$48,000,000—surely an infinitesimal sum when 

compared with those theatres $1,457,800,000 

valuation. 

"These theatres are your neighbors—indeed, 

your advertisers. Their patrons are, of course, 

your readers. What happens to them, therefore, 

should be of considerable concern to all 

newspapers." 

DuMont Laboratories Has 

Net Loss of $3,674,000 

NEW YORK—Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, 

Inc., reports a gross income of $58,801,000 

for 1955 exclusive of income from broadcasting 

operations, and a net loss of $3,674,000. 

Comparable figures for 1955 showed a gross 

income of $71,458,000 and earnings of $870,000, 

plus a capital gain of $6,727,000 from the sale 

of television station WDTV. 

The 1955 loss is equivalent to $1.56 per share 

of common stock. 

RKO Offers Special Easter 

Bill of Disney Subjects 

NEW YORK—RKO Radio exchanges are 

offering exhibitors a special package of Walt 

Disney cartoons under the collective title of 

"Easter Parade." Special posters and advertising 

material have been prepared. 

Another Disney group called "Spring 

Frolics" is being circulated for the post- 

Easter season. 

Form New Publicity Firm 

NEW YORK—Jay Weston, formerly account 

executive with the Milburn McCarty 

agency, and Clifford Cochrane, who headed 

his own agency, have formed a new public 

relations firm, Weston & Cochrane Associates, 

Ltd., with offices at 208 East 46th St. 

Cochrane was formerly with Columbia Pictures. 


yw^f¥*&wf!*mmt**i 

Remember his name... 

...You'll remember his story I

. 

1 

Youll remember all of the excitir 

GLENN 

FORD 

star of 

"Blackboard Jungle" \f 

and "Trial!" 

as Jubal. . 

Trouble clung to 

him- like a 

wanton woman! 

/ 

n

jBople and exciting performances! 

' 

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V • 

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WW \ty rv" 

* 

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ROD 

STEIGER

' 

from 

GLENN 

ERNEST 

FORD BORGNINE • STEIGER 

Remember his name... 

m^mi 

introducing 

...You'll remember his story I 

VALERIE FRENCH • FELICIA FIWR - B9?W B$U 

Screen Play by RUSSELL S. HUGHES and DELMER DAVES • Based on a Novel by PAUL I. WELLMAN 

Produced by WILLIAM FADIMAN • Directed by DELMER DAVES • A COLUMBIA PICTURE 

CINemaScoP^ 

Color by 

technicolor 

YOU'LL REMEMBER HIS STORY. . 

.THE WAY YOU REMEMBER THE BOX-OFFICE STORY OF "SHA

— 

Arihur Mayer Takes 

On 'War and Peace' 

Arthur Mayer reports on "War and 

Peace," and listening attentively are 

Jerry Pickman, center, vice-president in 

charge of advertising-publicity, and Russell 

Holman, eastern production manager 

for Paramount. 

NEW YORK—Arthur L. Mayer, exhibitor, 

distributor of foreign films and one-time 

executive vice-president of the Council of 

Motion Picture Organizations, is back at 

Paramount for the first time since 1932 as 

executive in charge of the advertising, 

publicity and exploitation of "War and 

Peace." A $1,000,000 advertising and promotion 

budget already has been set up for the 

picture—a sum which is exclusive of the 

expense of any individual engagement. 

The picture is scheduled for August or 

September release. The total promotional 

expenditure will probably be greater than for 

a year of normal releases, Jerome Pickman, 

vice-president in charge of publicity, advertising 

and exploitation, predicted. 

The arrangements for handling the production 

are unique for Paramount. It so happens 

that "The Ten Commandments," which will 

be released later in the year, is also one of 

the biggest budget pictures in the history 

of the company. It, too, will be handled by 

a separate promotion organization. 

Mayer flew over to Rome, where the film 

was made by Ponti De Laurentiis, and saw 

the film immediately after arrival. It ran for 

three hours and one-half. He brought back 

with him a mass of pen and ink drawings 

made in advance, including the burning of 

Moscow, Napoleon's retreat and other 

spectacular features. These will be used for 

early promotions. 

No details of the method of release have 

been decided, although Charles Boasberg, 

sales executive, has already discussed about 

a dozen preliminary deals. Lux Films has 

distribution rights in Italy and ABC will 

distribute under Paramount supervision in 

London and the rest of the British empire. 

The London opening will follow the New York 

premiere. 

Mayer's deal with Paramount may run 

into October. When he flew to Rome it was 

with the understanding that he would see the 

picture before making a commitment. He 

came back completely "sold" on the potentialities 

of the production. 

C. V. Whitney Embarking 

On Major Film Program 

HOLLYWOOD—With its initial production, 

the widely acclaimed "The Searchers," just 

going into release by Warner Bros., C. V. 

Whitney Pictures has formulated plans for a 

long-term, sweeping program of additional 

features of comparable magnitude. Details of 

his company's blueprinting were revealed 

Wednesday (28) by C. V. Whitney, its president, 

at a press conference. 

He stressed that, above all, the outfit's primary 

interest is in stories reflecting the 

American scene, with secondary and third 

accent, respectively, on pictures of the outdoor 

world and those treating with fantasy. 

In the first-named category, Whitney reported, 

are the recently purchased "The 

Valiant Virginians," a Civil War story by 

James Warner Bellah; a biography of Major 

Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, air force test 

pilot, on which the Whitney organization has 

secured an option for incorporation in a 

"larger American story," details of which will 

be disclosed later, and "William Liberty," a 

new novel by Frank Clemensen, which was 

acquired in manuscript form. Whitney, who 

was associated financially with David O. 

Selznick in the making of "Gone With the 

Wind," opined that "William Liberty" should 

"be for the West what 'GWTW' was for the 

South." 

Still another "grassroots" story of the 

U. S. will be a property dealing with the 

Midwest's farming communities, which Ted 

Tetzlaff has been signed to direct. Tetzlaff, 

Whitney reminded, megged the Vatican segment 

for "Seven Wonders of the World," a 

Cinerama venture. Frank Nugent, who 

O'Donnell Asks Action 

On Tax Campaign 

New York—All state tax campaign 

chairmen have been urged by Robert J. 

O'Donnell, national campaign chairman, 

to arrange meetings of exhibitors with 

their senators and congressmen during 

the congressional recess which has just 

begun and will last until April 9. 

O'Donnell wired them Monday (26) 

follows: 

"Having just returned from Washington, 

am happy to report that while there I 

received information from several sources 

that makes me more confident than ever 

that we can get tax relief at this session 

of Congress if we work for it with all 

our energy. 

"Therefore, I urge most strongly that 

you and your committee have exhibitors 

make extra special effort to obtain definite 

pledges of support from congressmen 

and senators while they are at home 

during congressional recess March 29- 

April 9. 

"We must go full steam ahead in the 

next two weeks, which could very well be 

the turning point of the whole campaign. 

I count on you to do your utmost. Sam 

Pinanski joins me in this plea." 

as 

C. V. Whitney Merian C. Cooper 

scripted "The Searchers," has been set to 

prepare the screenplay for the farm opus. 

In addition to the American series, several 

outdoor offerings with nature as the central 

theme are on the Whitney agenda, including, 

as the kickoff entry, a new version of 

"Chang." The original film was written, produced, 

directed, photographed and edited by 

Merian C. Cooper—now vice-president and 

executive producer for Whitney—and Ernest 

B. Schoedsack in the jungles of Siam many 

years ago. 

As concerns the fantasy theme, Whitney 

said these subjects will utilize Cooper's 

"unique talents," who, he reminded, made 

"King Kong" in association with Schoedsack 

—and which film "has had more reissues than 

any picture in history." 

Whitney expressed the opinion that motion 

pictures "can be as respected an art as any 

other," and that "art cannot be turned out 

on an assembly line." Producers, he declared, 

"must strive for finer entertainment to appeal 

to the finer taste of our growing audiences." 

He said his company will "compete actively" 

for superior story material, acting and picture-making 

talent, and stressed that the 

Whitney firm is a "permanent organization" 

which will have a salaried staff of artisans 

and personalities. 

Whitney declared that, further than 

"The Searchers," no releasing deal has been 

entered into with Warners—or, in fact, with 

any other distributing organization. It is 

his company's intention to arrange the most 

advantageous commitments possible for each 

picture individually as it is completed. He 

announced further that the same flexibility 

obtains as concerns the future use of photographic 

processes and color, although he spoke 

glowingly of VistaVision and Technicolor and 

what they contributed, individually and collectively, 

to the success of his organization's 

tee-off venture. 

The productional continuity of the planned 

features as cited above has not been definitely 

set, although—as Whitney pointed out 

two of them, "Chang" and the property dealing 

with midwestern farming communities, 

are currently in preparatory stages, and indications 

are that one of the pair will be the 

next undertaking. 

Takes Helen Keller Story 

NEW YORK—Louis de Rochemont Associates, 

Inc., has secured distribution rights 

to "The Unconquered," based on the story 

of Helen Keller, and in which she appears. 

New title will be "Helen Keller in Her Story." 

BOXOFFICE :: March 31. 1956 23

Special 

Technical 

Award 

Special 

Technical 

Award 

Special 

Technical 

Award 

THE 

AT 

Best Special 

Effects 

TO CATCH A 

THIEF— Best 

Cinematography 

—color 

THE ROSE 

TATTOO 

Best Set 

Decoration 

Best Cinematography 

— black and white 

Paramount gratefully acknowledges its appreciation t 

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and 

adds its congratulations to the winning talents wl 

new distinction to themselves andjto Paramount.

Anna Magnani in Hal Wallis' "THE ROSE TATTOO." 

Fourth year in succession that "Best Actress" has been won 

for a Paramount picture, as Miss Magnani joins Grace Kelly, 

Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Booth in receiving this Oscar. 

ART DIRECTION (black and white) 

Hal Pereira and Tambi Larsenfor "THE ROSE TATTOO" 

SET DECORATION (black and white) 

Sam Comer and Arthur Krams for "THE ROSE TATTOO" 

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS 

Perlberg-Seaton's "THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI." 

SPECIAL TECHNICAL AWARD 

Loren L. Ryder, Charles West, Henry Fraker and Paramount 

for projection index for framing various aspect ratios. 


Farciot Edouart, Hal Corl and Paramount for double-frame, 

triple-head background projector. 


AND 

Farciot Edouart, Hal Corl and Paramount for improved dual 

stereopticon background projector. 

THE ROSE TATTOO 

Best Actress 

3 Board and 

nces . . . and 

ive brought 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

/ James Wong Howe for "THE ROSE TATTOO." 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Robert Burks for Alfred Hitchcock's" TO CATCH A THIEF."

AB-PT Profit Jumps 74% 

In 1955 to $8,218,000 

NEW YORK—Net operating earnings of 

American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, 

Inc.. for 1955 were 74 per cent above the 

previous year, according to the annual report 

just submitted to stockholders by 

Leonard H. Goldenson, president. 

The total was $8,218,000, or $1.89 a common 

share, based on the number of shares outstanding 

at the end of each quarter, after 

preferred dividends of $488,000, For 1954 the 

earnings were $4,722,000, or $1.06 per common 

share after preferred dividends of $534,000. 

Theatre income was $110,503,000 compared 

with $115,916,000 in 1954. One-third of the 

decrease was attributed by Goldenson to the 

progressive disposition of theatres and the 

balance primarily to lack of top quality pictures 

released in the fourth quarter. Theatre 

earnings held up "very well" for the first 

eight months, Goldenson stated. 

Provisions for taxes was $7,794,000 compared 

with $4,921,000 the previous year. 

Capital gains were $155,000, or four cents 

a common share, compared with $210,000, 

or five cents per common share, in 1954. There 

common shares outstanding at 

were 4.138,165 

the end of 1955, compared with 3,968.487 

shares at the end of 1954. 

Total income in 1955 was $194,662,000, an 

increase of $4,866,000 over 1954. The ABC 

division's operating income increased to 

$81,117,000 from $70,424,000 in 1954. ABC 

showed a profit for the year against a loss 

in 1953 and 1954. Gross time billings for the 

TV network increased 53 per cent. Goldenson 

predicted further strengthening of the 

program structure and a continued further 

financial gain. 

Allied Artists Meeting 

To Outline Sales Plans 

CHICAGO—A three-day conference of 

Allied Artists domestic division and branch 

managers, studio personnel and executives of 

the home office sales, sales service and 

advertising-publicity divisions will open 

April 4 at the Blackstone Hotel here. 

Morey R. Goldstein, vice-president and 

general sales manager, said that those to 

attend from the coast will include Steve 

Broidy, president, and John C. Flinn, advertising-publicity 

director, and from the 

home office Ed Morey, vice-president, and 

Martin S. Davis, eastern advertising-publicity 

manager. 

Broidy will outline future plans and Goldstein 

releasing plans, including those for 

"Crime in the Streets" and "The First 

Texan," due for June and July release. Flinn 

and Davis will discuss promotion campaigns. 

Other speakers will include Roy Brewer, exchange 

operations manager; Manny Goodman, 

eastern contract department head, and 

Si 

Borus, western contract department head. 

Before the conferences officially open, 

Goldstein will meet with division managers 

L. E. Goldhammer, eastern; Nat Nathanson, 

midwest; James A. Prichard, southern, and 

Harold Wirthwein, western, and Arthur 

Greenblatt, home office sales executive. 

AB-PT to Cut Holdings 

To Under 600 Theatres 

New York—There will be fewer than 

600 Paramount Theatres when the theatre 

division of American Broadcasting- 

Paramount Theatres completes the 

process of whittling down marginal holdings, 

Leonard H. Goldenson, president, 

told stockholders in the annual report. 

The consent decree allows 651 theatres 

for the company, but the company plans 

to continue its policy of getting rid of 

marginal theatres in addition to the 

required sales. "During the last year 34 

houses were disposed of," Goldenson reported. 

"At the year end the company 

had 605 houses operated through 17 

circuits on a regional basis." 

Marginal theatres are those which "for 

reasons of size, location, shift of population 

and the changing complexion of 

the business, do not have a desirable 

earnings potential." Theatres may be acquired 

when divorcement is completed. 

These will be in growing and profitable 

areas "where the anticipated return 

justifies the investment." 

French, Winchell Up 

In Minn. Amusement 

MINNEAPOLIS—Charles Winchell, who 

stepped up in the ranks of the Minnesota 

Amusement Co. via the advertising-publicity 

route, has been elevated to the presidency, 

and Harry B. French who has been president 

for almost a decade has been advanced to 

chairman of the board. The company is an 

affiliate of American Broadcasting-Paramount 

Theatres. 

Winchell became vice-president and executive 

assistant to French in 1947, after serving 

as director of advertising and publicity for 

the 40-theatre circuit in the Minnesota-Wisconsin-Dakotas 

area for a number of years. 

French began his career with the old Finkelstein 

and Ruben circuit and was southern 

Minnesota and Dakota manager for Minnesota 

Amusement when he was upped to the 

presidency. 

John Branton, chief buyer and booker, was 

named a vice-president in charge of booking 

and buying, and George Shephard, head of 

the concessions department, also was promoted 

to a vice-presidency. Charles Perrine 

continues as a vice-president, secretary and 

treasurer. 

Las Vegas Tent Will Fly 

To New York Convention 

NEW YORK—Variety Tent 39 of Las Vegas 

has advised convention headquarters that it 

will attend the May 9-12 convention at the 

Waldorf Astoria in style. 

Forty-eight barkers will arrive in a 

chartered plane and in costume. 

!

-^&&*z£m top box office / 

llTV-**^ 

U.I.'s big vacation-time 

summer-time special! 

. . . the picture with 

"FAMILY-APPEAL!" 

PRINT BY 

yecM/coto^ 

jeff CHANDLER laraine DAYwTiM HOVEY 

with . 

CECIL KELLAWAY • RICHARD HAYDN 0„ec.ed by JERRY HOPPER Screen Story and Screenplay try TED SHERDEMAN Produced by HOWARD CHRISTIE ^

One of the spectacular battle scenes in "Alexander the Great." 

general, his ambition causes him to slay his 

closest companions and marry for reasons of 

state. He dies without having suffered a 

single defeat in battle. 

Burton gives an impressive, virile portrayal 

of Alexander and March is excellent as the 

bearded Philip of Macedonia, who was considered 

little more than a barbarian by the 

more cultured Greeks. Danielle Darrieux, 

the French star, contributes a strong dramatic 

portrayal as Olympias, Alexander's embittered 

mother, although she seems to age 

not a whit during a 25-year period. Barry 

Jones, who is splendidly human in his few 

scenes as Aristotle, Niall MacGinnis as the 

warrior Parmenio and Stanley Baker as the 

crafty Attalus are fine British actors all and 

give convincing performances. Least effective 

is Claire Bloom, who remains a shadowy and 

colorless figure as Barsine, Alexander's true 

love. 

FEATURE REVIEW 

'Alexander the Great' 

Robert Rossen- United Artists 

By FRANK LEYENDECKEB 

piRST and foremost, Richard Rossen's production 

of "Alexander the Great" is a 

tremendous spectacle, replete with magnificent 

and fearsome battle scenes, pageantry, 

pagan feasting and revelry, a mass wedding 

ceremony and scenic wonders splendidly 

photographed in Cinemascope and Technicolor. 

More of a feast for the eye than a dramatic 

triumph, the picture's size and scope must 

be heavily sold, as well as its stars, Richard 

Burton, the handsome British star who 

sprang to U. S. fame in "The Robe"; Fredric 

March, giving another of his forceful portrayals, 

and Claire Bloom, who has been 

widely publicized of late for "Richard III" 

and her American TV appearance in "Caesar 

and Cleopatra." 

Written, produced and directed by Rossen 

and filmed in its entirety in Spain in 1955 

after two years of preparation, this is a big 

picture on the scale comparable to Cecil De 

Mille's Biblical epics or "Quo Vadis" and it 

offers similar exploitation values and selling 

angles for the exhibitor. Reportedly made at 

a cost of $4,000,000, United Artists is going 

all out in advertising and publicizing it as 

the company's biggest of 1956. 

Rossen, who strives for authenticity and 

realism, as he did in his Mexican-made, "The 

Brave Bulls," was fortunate in securing 

David Ffolkes as costume designer. Andre 

Andrejew as set designer, for these two features 

are breathtakingly beautiful and aweinspiring. 

Only the special effects of the 

burning cities have a staged and unreal look. 

Otherwise the photography by Robert Kasker 

is outstanding. Prince Peter of Greece was 

technical adviser for the production. 

Rossen's screenplay must take second place 

to his producing-directing duties, for there 

is scant time for romance or human interest 

touches in the story of Philip of Macedonia 

who conquered Athens in 365 B. C, 20 years 

before his son, Alexander, battled the Persians 

and invaded India. It is a terrifying, 

often bloody tale of conquest and vengeance, 

with the only two important feminine figures 

being Olympias, mother of Alexander, who 

plots the murder of his father, and Barsine, 

the half-Persian wife of an Athenian general 

who is beloved of Alexander, although he 

marries a Persian princess to further his 

ends. There are no lighter touches in this 

melodramatic plot. 

The story roughly covers a 33-year period, 

from the time Alexander is born to Olympias 

while his father Philip is at the height of a 

drunken carousal following his sack of an 

Athenian town, to Alexander's death after 

conquering the east and starting the unification 

of Europe and Asia, which paved the 

way for the spread of Christianity 300 years 

later. In between, Philip, who listens to 

rumors that his wife's Egyptian soothsayer 

is the real father of Alexander, later divorces 

his queen and she instigates his murder 

and Alexander becomes king of Macedonia. 

He leads his father's magnificent 

army to victory after victory and, although 

attracted to Barsine, widow of an Athenian 

Robert Rossen Presents 

"ALEXANDER THE GREAT" 

In CinemaScope and Technicolor. Ratio: 2-1 

Running Time: 141 Minutes 

Released through United Artists 

THE CREDITS 

Written, produced and directed by Robert 

Rossen. Photographed by Robert Krasker. Production 

executive, Gordon S. Griffith. Film editor, 

Ralph Kemplen. Set Designer, Andre Andrejew. 

Costume designer, David Ffolkes. Set dresser, 

Dario Simoni. Casting supervisor, Michael Waszynski. 

Makeup by David Aylott. Hair-dressing 

supervisor, Gordon Bond. Special effects, Cliff 

Richardson. Technical adviser. Prince Peter of 

Greece. 

THE CAST 

Alexander the Great 

Richard Burton 

Philip of Macedonia Fredric March 

Barsine Claire Bloom 

Olympias Danielle Darrieux 

Darius Harry Andrews 

Attalus 

Stanley Baker 

Parmenio Niall MacGinnis 

Memnon 

Peter Cushing 

Demosthenes Michael Hordern 

Aristotle Barry Jones 

Eurydice Marisa De Leza 

and Gustavo Rojo, Ruben Rojo, William Squire, 

Helmut Dantine, Friedrich Lebedur, Peter Wyngarde, 

Virgilio Texeira, Teresa Del Rio, Julio 

Pena, Jose Nieto, Carlos Baena, Ramsay Ames, 

Ricordo Valle, Jose Morco, Carmen Carulla, 

Jesus Luque, Mario Del Barros, Ellen Rossen. 

Columbia Wins Kids 

Wiih Film Package 

CLEVELAND—Columbia Pictures 

has successfully 

introduced a package program for 

children's matinees consisting of a feature, 

one two-reeler and three single reels for $15. 

The policy has been in practice in this area 

since Christmas and has become so popular 

that it is being continued beyond the Easter 

holiday period. Columbia offers a list of 75 

features from which to choose. On the list 

are pictures starring Glenn Ford, William 

Holden, Lucille Ball, Frankie Laine, George 

Montgomery, Johnny Weissmuller, Mickey 

Rooney, Lon McAllister and Pat O'Brien. Also 

included are Starretts, Gene Autrys, Wild 

Bill Elliotts and Hoosier Hotshots. 

Columbia inaugurated this service so that 

exhibitors of all classifications can offer selected 

children's shows on Saturday afternoon 

and have an opportunity to bring back 

to their theatres the children who have become 

TV addicts. 

Lopert Will Distribute 

Carol Reed Color Film 

NEW YORK—"A Kid for Two Farthings," 

British picture in Technicolor produced by 

Carol Reed, will be distributed in the U. S. 

by Lopert Film Distributing Corp., which is 

also currently distributing "Richard III" in 

Technicolor and VistaVision. 

The picture had previously been on the 

United Artists forthcoming list under the new 

title, "The Lucky Kid." The cast is headed 

by Celia Johnson, Diana Dors, Brenda de 

Banzie and David Kossoff, with six-year-old 

Jonathan Ashmore. 

The first American engagement will be at 

the Plaza Theatre, New York, following the 

current run of "The House of Ricordi." 

Tito Guizar to Produce 

Five Films in Mexico 

KANSAS CITY—Tito Guizar, Mexican motion 

picture star who has been playing an 

engagement here at the Hotel Muehlebach's 

Terrace Grill, left for Mexico City. He 

will make five pictures there with the Grovas 

studios, among which will be a remake of 

"Rancho Grande" which he appeared in 18 

years ago. Guizar's daughter, who has been 

on a television program in Mexico City, will 

appear with her father in the picture. 


• 

. JOHN SMITH RACE GENTRY 

A HAL E CHESTER wM 

.Mi, LEWIS R. FOSTER 

sw, MSamu,* ROBERT LEWIN

One of the many dramatic scenes from "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" with 

Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones in the leading roles. 

FEATURE REVIEW 

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit' 

20th 

Century-Fox 

By IVAN SPEAR 

CONTEMPORARY humor has 

established 

the gray flannel suit as the standard 

symbol of bright, brittle and broke bourgeois 

suburbiana, the ambitious and often unprincipled 

young business executives and their 

wives who adhere to an established pattern 

in their unrelenting pursuit of social and 

financial success. Like the original, this 

superb film version of the Sloan Wilson bestseller, 

from which it takes its title and its 

story, stresses the more admirable characteristics 

of such persons. While the screenplay 

touches on the phony, opportunist facets of 

the gray-raimented crowd—particularly those 

of the TV huckster cult—it heartwarmingly 

concentrates on their problems, emotions, 

tragedies and, above all, their integrity. 

The photoplay appears surefire to rank 

high among the year's toppers in public and 

critical acclaim, as well as capacity patronage. 

Over and above the fact that it is an 

excellent and entirely fascinating motion picture, 

there are numerous other qualities to 

virtually guarantee its attainment of that coveted 

dual goal. Witness: A cast so starstudded 

with names of proven magnetism 

that it will overfreight the largest marquees; 

the widely-read literary source; Cinemascope 

and De Luxe color, and almost limitless opportunity 

for attention-demanding merchandising. 

Inasmuch as 20th-Fox studio's headman, 

Darryl P. Zanuck, personally undertook production 

of the challenging property, that is 

testimony sufficient that fabrication of the 

feature demanded the best in every department—a 

demand that was lavishly fulfilled 

on all counts. Nunnally Johnson was 

selected to write the screenplay and direct, 

and executed both assignments in excellent 

taste and with consummate skill. How much 

of the universal superiority of performances 

is attributable to Johnson's masterful megging 

and what percentage resulted from the 

unquestionable individual and collective 

talents of the name-heavy roster of mummers 

is difficult to determine and is. after all, of 

no importance. 

In the title role Gregory Peck registers a 

soft-voiced, conservative, sincere delineation, 

which packs the conviction and is somewhat 

reminiscent of his part in "Gentleman's 

Agreement." As the video tycoon, an industrial 

giant who has made a shambles of 

his personal life, veteran Predric March 

can conceivably be credited with one of the 

best thespian tricks of his long and distinguished 

career. Jennifer Jones, Lee J. 

Cobb, Marisa Pavan and other troupers too 

numerous to mention contribute as tellingly. 

Peck portrays the $7,000-a-year employe of 

a philanthropic foundation in New York, a 

young man left somewhat shaken and insecure 

by his experiences in World War II. 

Married and reasonably content with his lot, 

Peck is urged by his ambitious wife, Miss 

Jones, to accept a higher-salaried post with 

a video broadcasting network headed by 

March. Here he soon learns that his ideas 

must be carefully filtered through upper 

echelons before they reach March. Beset by 

these complications and a threatened marital 

rift because of an extra-curricular love affair 

that had involved him during the war, Peck 

finally rebels against the pressure, tells March 

how he feels and finds to his surprise that 

the latter appreciates his frankness. 

For the ticket buyers who relish other than 

20th Century-Fox Presents 

A Darryl F. Zanuck Production 

"THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT" 

In CinemaScope and De Luxe Color. 

Ratio: 2.55-1. 

Running Time: 153 Minutes 

THE CREDITS 

Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Director, Nunnally 

Johnson. Screenploy by Nunnally Johnson. 

From the novel by Sloan Wilson. Music by 

Bernard Herrmann. Director of photography, 

Charles G. Clarke. Art direction, Lyle R. Wheeler 

and Jack Martin Smith. Set decorations, Walter 

M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss. Special photographic 

effects, Ray Kellogg. Film editor, Dorothy 

Spencer. Assistant director, Hal Herman. 

THE CAST 

Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, 

Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb, Ann Harding, Keenan 

Wynn, Gene Lockhart, Gigi Perreau, Portland 

Mason, Arthur O'Connell, Henry Doniell, Connie 

Gilchrist, Joseph Sweeney, Sandy Descher, Mickey 

Maga, Kenneth Tobey, Ruth Clifford, Geraldine 

Wall, Alex Campbell. 

problems in their screen fare, there are 

exciting and spectacular spots of action, made 

possible through flashback glimpses of Peck's 

army experiences, and the yarn is not wanting 

in touches of wholesome and alleviating 

comedy. 

While CinemaScope and De Luxe color are 

present and bestow their expected part upon 

the over-all aura of size and opulence, the 

average spectator will be less conscious of 

them than is usually the case. That's because 

the offering's dramatic qualities are so overwhelming 

that process and tint—along with 

other technical facets of paralleling high 

calibre—are afforded scant opportunity for 

attention. 

Because of the plot's several story threads, 

entrusted to less-skillful scripting, piloting 

and acting, the picture might have become 

somewhat vertiginous. On the contrary, 

talent and production know-how all down the 

line weave those threads so adroitly and 

smoothly that the completed entirety unfolds 

in what appears to be much less time than 

its outsize 153 minutes—and, resultantly, 

there appears no likelihood of gray figures 

in the grosses of the theatres that book the 

movie about garb of that hue. 

'Raintree County' First 

In MGM 65mm Process 

HOLLYWOOD—Another technological 

advance 

in the screen's photographic and projection 

techniques was reported when on 

Monday (26) MGM announced its longawaited 

65mm process will make its debut 

on the high-budget "Raintree County," which 

will roll April 2 as a David Lewis production, 

to be directed by Edward Dmytryk. 

A single negative filmed in 65mm can 

supply super-roadshow prints in 3-1 ratio, 

and is adaptable to any screen size and 

ratio from 3-1 down to standard, it was declared 

by Dore Schary, studio head. 

E. J. Mannix, executive studio manager, 

said the new photographic process is the 

result of years of study and experimentation 

under the direction of Douglas Shearer, who 

is in charge of the studio's technical research. 

Optical equipment was produced under supervision 

of Robert E. Gottschalk, president of 

Pana vision, Inc. 

MGM executives said the new process 

makes it possible to bring a "greatly-improved" 

image, boasting clarity and lack of 

distortion, to any theatre screen in the world 

regardless of size or shape. It is filmed with 

cameras having conventional-type mechanism, 

but modified to handle 65mm negative. 

Special lenses, embodying a new optical 

principle, were developed by Panavision. 

"Raintree County," starring Elizabeth 

Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Eva Marie Saint 

and Agnes Moorehead, was chosen as the 

65mm "pilot" because of its heavy budget 

and estimated three-hour running time. After 

six weeks of shooting on the lot, the feature 

will move to Louisiana. Mississippi, Kentucky 

and Tennessee for more than two months of 

location work. It is based on a novel by 

Ross Lockridge jr. 

Kramer Buys 'Inherit Wind' 

NEW YORK—Stanley Kramer has purchased 

screen rights to the stage hit, "Inherit 

the Wind," and will produce it next year. 

The purchase price, said to be in six figures, 

also includes a guarantee against percentage 

of the world gross to Jerome Lawrence and 

Robert E. Lee, producers. 

30 BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956

IN 

COLOR BY 

TECHNICOLOR

The Oscar Parade . 

. . 

Ernest Borgnine, left, voted the best actor for his starring role in 

the Hecht-Lancaster production, "Marty" (United Artists) and 

Harold Hecht, the producer, are all smiles as they pose for cameramen 

who covered the event for the world's press. The Hecht- 

Lancaster Oscar celebration of the awards was a top post-ceremony 

affair in Hollywood. 

William Ludwig (left) and the veteran screen writer, Sonya Levien, 

each received an Oscar for collaborating on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 

"Interrupted Melody," hailed as the best story and screenplay. At 

the right is Daniel Fuchs, who was honored for writing the best 

motion picture story, "Love Me or Leave Me," also a production from 

the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. 

As always, the annual Academy Awards ceremony was a glamor-studded affair as 

the industry handed out its Oscars for top performances in 1955. The 28th annual 

Awards event was held in the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles March 21, and 

press, radio and TV coverage circled the globe. At the close of the presentation ceremony, 

cameramen had their field day photographing the winners—and, as the smiles 

en this page indicate, the winners thoroughly enjoyed the "one more, please" session. 

Oscars for the best supporting roles were given 

to Jo Van Fleet for her work in "East of Eden" 

and Jack Lemmon for his acting in "Mister 

Roberts." Both pictures were released by- 

Warner Bros. 

Cinematographer James Wong Howe 

waxes ecstatic over winning the 

Oscar for the best black-and-white 

photography, in "The Rose Tattoo," 

a Hal Wallis-Paramount film. 

^ 

Best color photography, in the 

opinion of the Academy, was that 

contributed by Robert Burks 

photographing "To Catch a 

Thief," which Alfred Hitchcock 

contributed to the Paramount 

lineup of 1955 films. Burks also 

photographed Hitchcock's "Rear 

Window" and "Dial M for Murder." 

Songwriters Paul Francis Webster (left) and 

Sammy Fain are flanked by the veteran French 

entertainer Maurice Chevalier in this shot. 

Webster and Fain wrote "Love Is a Many- 

Splendored Thing," the prize-winning song 

from the 20th Century-Fox picture of the same 

name. Chevalier sang one of the nominated 

songs at the Awards ceremony. 


A? urumount 

CONGRATULATES 

ANNA MAGNANI 

ON WINNING THE 

ACADEMY BEST ACTRESS AWARD 

IN 

"THE ROSE TATTOO //

#'I /u c*Deepe$i ^rppreciation 

ERNEST BORGNINE 


Academy winner* since 198A: 

1934 - "The Continental" - Con Conrad, Herbert Magidson 

1935 — "Lullaby of Broadway" — Harry Warren, Al Dubin 

1936 - "The Way You Look Tonight" — Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields 

1937 - "Sweet Leilani" — Harry Owens 

1938 — "Thanks tor the Memory" - Ralph Ranger, Leo Robin 

1939 - "Over the Rainbow" — E. Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen 

1940 - "When You Wish Upon A Star" - Ned Washington, Leigh Harline 

1941 _ "The Last Time I Saw Paris" — Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein 

1942 - "White Christmas" - Irving Berlin 

1943 — "You'll Never Know" — Harry Warren, Mack Gordon 

1344 _ "Swinging On A Star" — James Van Heusen, Johnny Burke 

1945 - "It Might As Well Be Spring" — Rodgers and Hammerstein 

1946 — "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" - H. Warren, J. Mercer 

1947 - "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" - Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert 

1948 - "Buttons and Bows" - Jay Livingston, Ray Evans l 

1949- "Baby, It's Cold Outside" — Frank Loesser 

SONGS 

'OSCARS' 

1950 - "Mona Lisa" — Ray Evans, Jay Livingston 

1951 - "In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening" — H. Carmichael, J. Mercer 

1952 - "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin' "- Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington 

— 1953 "Secret Love" -Sammy Fain, Paul Webster 

1954 -"Three Coins in the Fountain"- Sammy Cahn, Jute Styne 

i 

ASCAP congratulates the 1955 Winners 

"LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING" 

W: Paul Francis Webster—M: Sammy Fain 

Published by Miller Music Corporation 

ear after year, ever since 

Oscars have been instituted, 

songs of ASCAP members 

have been acclaimed 

as the outstanding tunes 

used in 

motion pictures 

and have won Academy Awards 

miiffi*****

DELBERT MANN 

Best 

Direction 

"MARTY" 

HECHT-LANCASTER, U. A. 

PADDY CHAYEFSKY 

Best 

Screenplay 

"MARTY" 

HECHT-LANCASTER, U. A. 


TOP ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS, 1928 TO 1955 

YEAR BEST PICTURE BEST DIRECTOR BEST ACTOR BEST ACTRESS 

SUPPORTING 

ACTOR 

SUPPORTING 

ACTRESS 

,.,, .... ,„ , Frank Borzage 

1928 Wings (Para.) 

Lewis Milestone 

Emil 

Jannings 

Jonet Gaynor 

1929 Broadway Melody (MGM) Frank Lloyd 

Warner Baxter 

Mary Pickford 

1930 All Quiet on the Western Front (U) Lewis Milestone 

1931 Cimarron (RKO) Norman Taurog 

1932 Grand Hotel (MGM) Frank Borzage 

George Arliss 

Lionel Barrymore 

Fredric March 

Norma Shearer 

Marie Dressier 

Helen Hayes 

(Supporting Player Awards 

were not made until 1936) 

1933 Cavalcade (Fox) Frank Lloyd 

Charles Laughton 

Katharine Hepburn 

1934 It Happened One Night (Col.) Frank Copra 

Clark Gable 

Claudette Colbert 

1935 Mutiny on the Bounty (MGM) John Ford 

Victor McLaglen 

Bette Davis 

1936 Great Ziegfeld (MGM) Frank Capra 

Paul 

Muni 

Luise Rainer 

Walter Brennan 

Gale Sondergaard 

1937 Life of Zola (WB) Leo McCarey 

Spencer Tracy 

Luise Rainer 

Joseph Schildkraut 

Alice Brady 

1938 You Can't Take It With You (Col.) Frank Copra 

Spencer Tracy 

Bette Davis 


Fay 

Bainter 

1939 Gone With the Wind (MGM-Selznick) Victor Fleming 

Robert Donat 

Vivien 

Leigh 

Thomas Mitchell 

Hottie 

McDaniel 

1940 Rebecca (UA-Selznick) John Ford 

James Stewart 

Ginger Rogers 


Jane Darwell 

1941 How Green Was My Valley (20th-Fox) John Ford 

Gary Cooper 

Joan 

Fontaine 

Donald Crisp 

Mary Astor 

1942 Mrs. Miniver (MGM) William Wyler 

James Cagney 

Greer Garson 

Van Heflin 

Teresa Wright 

1943 Casablanca (WB) Michael Curtiz 

Paul 

Lucas 

Jennifer Jones 

Charles Coburn 

Katina Paxinou 

1944 Going My Way (Para.) Leo McCarey 

Bing Crosby 

Ingrid 

Bergman 

Barry Fitzgerald 

Ethel Barrymore 

1945 Lost Weekend (Para.) Billy Wilder 

Ray Milland 

Joan Crawford 

James Dunn 

Anne Revere 

1946 Best Years of Our Lives (RKO-Goldwyn) William Wyler 

Fredric March 

Olivia de Havilland 

Harold Russell 

Anne Baxter 

1947 Gentlemen's Agreement (20th-Fox) Elia Kazan 

Ronald Colman 

Loretta 

Young 

Edmund Gwenn 

Celeste 

Holm 

1948 Hamlet (U-I-Rank) John Huston 

Sir Laurence Olivier 

Jane Wyman 

Walter Huston 

Claire Trevor 

1949 All the King's Men (Col.) J. L. Mankiewicz 

Broderick Crawford 

Olivia de Havilland 

Dean Jagger 

Mercedes 

McCambridge 

1950 All About Eve (20th-Fox) J. L. Mankiewicz 

Jose 

Ferrer 

Judy Holliday 

George Sanders 

Josephine 

Hull 

1951 An American in Paris (MGM) George Stevens 

Humphrey Bogart 

Vivien 

Leigh 

Karl Maiden 

Kim 

Hunter 

1952 Greatest Show on Earth (Para.) John Ford 

Gary Cooper 

Shirley 

Booth 

Anthony Quinn 

Gloria Grahame 

1953 From Here to Eternity (Col.) Fred Zinnemann 

William Holden 

Audrey Hepburn 

Frank Sinatra 

Donna Reed 

1954 On the Waterfront (Col.) Elia Kazan 

Marlon Brando 

Grace Kelly 

Edmond O'Brien 

Eva 

Marie Saint 

1955 Marty (UA-Steven Prods.) Delbert Mann 

Ernest Borgnine 

Anna Magnani 

Jack Lemmon 

Jo Van Fleet 

Best 

Story and Screenplay 

"interrupted 

melody" 

M-G-M 

WILLIAM 

LUDWIG 

SONYA 

LEVIEN 

BOXOFFICE March 31, 1956 37

*i¥oUefeiMMd êfiont 

By 

IVAN SPEAR 

Brisk Production Pace Seen for April 

As 29 New Films Are Set to Roll 

A shade under March's pace, when 31 pictures 

were poised for camera starts, the April 

outlook nonetheless is for a reasonably brisk 

period, with a tally of major and independent 

filmmakers indicating the month will see a 

total of 29 new vehicles getting the green 

light. That aggregate, unless materially curtailed 

through last-minute postponements, 

will make the upcoming month second only to 

March in terms of accelerated production 

this year. 

Every studio will be in action to a more 

or less intensified degree. Launching its biggest 

boom in many a season, MGM leads the 

list with five new subjects on the brink of the 

sound stages. Paramount and 20th Century- 

Fox each are contributing substantially to the 

over-all count with four new starters each, 

while Allied Artists and Universal-International 

share show position, each carding 

three entries. 

Subject to possible change, the lineup looks 

like 

this: 

ALLIED ARTISTS 

"The Cruel Tower." Based on a novel by 

William Brown Hartley, this is the story of a 

sufferer from acrophobia (fear of heights) 

who inadvertently falls in with a band of 

roving steeplejacks. Stars John Ericson. 

Producer, Lindsley Parsons. Director not set. 

"Notre Dame of Paris." A new version, to 

be filmed in France, of Victor Hugo's "The 

Hunchback of Notre Dame." Stars Gina 

Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn. Producers, 

Robert and Raymond Hakim. 

Director, Jean 

Dellanoy. In Cinemascope and color, to be 

distributed by AA in the western hemisphere. 

"One False Step." In which Bill Elliott, 

erstwhile cowboy, again dons mufti and the 

badge of the law to portray a sheriff's detective 

tracking down the culprit in a murder 

case. Producer. Ben Schwalb. Director not 

set. 

COLUMBIA 

"Full of Life." From a novel by John 

Fante, this is the story of a wife expecting 

her first child, and of the complications 

brought about by her anxious husband and 

his stubborn Italian father, who moves in 

with them. Stars Judy Holliday. Producer, 

Fred Kohlmar. Director, Richard Quine. 

"Guns of Fort Petticoat." Pioneer women 

harassed by Indian attacks are drilled and 

trained by Audie Murphy, an Army scout, 

into a fighting force that holds off the redskins 

until the cavalry rides to the rescue. 

Producer, Harry Joe Brown. Director, George 

Marshall. In Technicolor. 

INDEPENDENT 

"It Conquered the Earth." A sciencefiction 

melodrama. Stars not set. Producerdirector, 

Roger Corman (Sunset Pictures). 

American Releasing Corp. to distribute. 

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER 

"The Barretts of Wimpole Street.' 

38 

To be 

SOUND EDITORS AWARDED—The 

Motion Picture Sound Editors recently 

distributed its third annual awards for 

the 1955 season's top achievements in 

sound editing. In this photo, standing 

(from left) : Dore Schary, MGM studio 

head, who received a special citation for 

the "unique sound effects" in the documentary 

short, "The Battle of Gettysburg," 

which he personally produced; 

Patrick McCormack and Ed Luckey, 

honored for U-I's "This Island Earth," 

and Joe Kavigan, selected for the TV 

series, "Lassie." Seated at left is Ann 

Blyth, who presented the awards, shown 

with Lassie and Morse Opper, MPSE 

president. 

made in London, this is a new version (it was 

originally produced in 1934) of the love story 

of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning 

and of how they defied her stern, autocratic 

father by marrying against his wishes. Stars 

Jennifer Jones, John Gielgud, Virginia Mc- 

Kerma. Producer, Sam Zimbalist. Director, 

Sidney Franklin. 

"The Power and the Prize." From a novel 

by Howard Swiggett, this concerns the battle 

by big business interests for control of one 

of the world's large mining syndicates. Stars 

Robert Taylor, Anne Francis, Sir Cedric 

Hardwicke. Producer, Nicholas Nayfack. Director, 

Henry Koster. 

"Raintree County." First feature to be 

filmed in the company's newly developed 

65mm process, this is a story of the north 

and her people before, during and after the 

Civil War. It is adapted from a novel by Ross 

Franklin Lockridge jr. Stars Elizabeth Taylor, 

Montgomery Clift, Agnes Moorehead. 

Producer, David Lewis. Director, Edward 

Dmytryk. 

"The Teahouse of the August Moon." An 

adaptation of a successful Broadway play, 

this is scheduled for filming on location in 

Japan. It deals with an Army captain's efforts 

to rehabilitate a war-torn Okinawan 

village. Stars Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, 

Louis Calhern. Producer, Jack Cummings. 

Director, Daniel Mann. 

"Tea and Sympathy." A youth accused by 

his schoolmates of homosexual tendencies is 

comforted and directed on the right course 

by the understanding wife of the school's 

headmaster. From the play by Robert Anderson. 

Stars Deborah Kerr, John Kerr, Leif 

Erickson. Producer, Pandro S. Berman. Director, 

Vincente Minnelli. 

PARAMOUNT 

"Funny Face." A romantic musical in Technicolor 

and VistaVision, based on the Broadway 

play, with a score by George and Ira 

Gershwin, this is a behind-the-scenes story 

of a smart fashion magazine. Stars Audrey 

Hepburn. Fred Astaire. Producer, Roger 

Edens. Director, Stanley Donen. 

"Hollywood or Bust." Which concerns the 

adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis 

on a cross-country automobile trip via Route 

66. Also stars Shirley MacLaine. Producer, 

Hal Wallis. Director, Frank Tashlin. In 

VistaVision and Technicolor. 

"The Lonely Man." The story of a gunfighter 

in the early west. Stars Jack Palance, 

Anthony Perkins. Producer, Pat Duggan. Director, 

Henry Levin. In VistaVision. 

"The Loves of Omar Khayyam." A Technicolor-VistaVision 

costume romance, based 

on the career of the 11th-century Persian 

poet, philosopher and diplomat. Stars Cornel 

Wilde, Debra Paget, John Derek, Raymond 

Massey. Producer, Y. Frank Freeman jr. Director, 

William Dieterle. 

REPUBLIC 

"The Fight at Apache Wells." 

To be filmed 

in Trucolor, this is the story of an Indian 

attack on the frontier. Stars not set. Producer-director, 

Joe Kane. 

"The Man in Question." A drama of international 

intrigue, adapted from a Crime 

Club novel by John Godey. Producer, Rudy 

Ralston. Director, Franklin Adreon. 

RKO RADIO 

"Public Pigeon Number One." A bumbling 

waiter outwits confidence men in this theatrical 

film version of a CBS-TV "Climax" 

show. Stars Red Skelton, recreating the role 

he essayed on the video program. Producer. 

Harry Tugend. Director, Norman Z. McLeod. 

CENTURY-FOX 

"The Best Things in Life Are Free." This 

20th 

is a musical biography of the songwriting 

team of Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown and 

Ray Henderson. Stars Gordon MacRae, Dan 

Dailey, Ernest Borgnine, Sheree North. Producer, 

Henry Ephron. Director, Michael 

Curtiz. In Cinemascope and color. 

"The Day the Century Ended." Adapted 

from a novel by Francis Irby Gwaltney, this 

concerns the personalities and problems of 

an army infantry company in the Pacific 

during World War II. Stars Robert Wagner. 

Producer, David Weisbart. Director, Richard 

Fleischer. In Cinemascope and color. 

"The Last Wagon." A story of the Overland 

trail and of an Indian masacre of a wagon 

train. Stars Richard Widmark, Joan Collins. 

Tommy Rettig. Producer, William Hawks. 

Director, Delmer Daves. In Cinemascope and 

color. 

"One in a Million." Based on a New 

Yorker magazine story, this deals with 

modern medicine and the development of the 

so-called "wonder drugs." Stars James 

BOXOFFICE March 31, 1956

Mason. Producer, James Mason. Director, 

Nicholas Ray. In Cinemascope and color. 

UNITED ARTISTS 

"The Boss." The first film to emanate 

from the newly-organized Seltzer Films, this 

is the story of a city taken over by a corrupt 

political machine, and of the violent disintegration 

of the man who has seized illegal 

power. Stars John Payne, Gloria McGhee. 

Producers, Prank and Walter Seltzer. Director, 

Byron Haskin. 

"The Brass Legend." An outdoor drama of 

frontier days, this stars Hugh O'Brian, topliner 

in TV's "Wyatt Earp" western series. 

Producer, Robert Goldstein. Director, Gerd 

Oswald. 

UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL 

"The Great Man." This is 

a film version of 

the novel by Al Morgan about a TV-radio star 

who, widely acclaimed while alive, is discovered 

upon his death to have been a 

thorough-going heel. Stars Jose Ferrer, 

Julie London. Producer, Aaron Rosenberg. 

Director, Jose Ferrer. 

"The Mole People." A scientific expedition 

uncovers a lost race which has been living 

beneath the earth for generations. Stars 

John Agar. Producer, William Alland. 

Director, Virgil Vogel. 

"Star Light." In this behind-the-Hollywood-scenes 

story, in Cinemascope and 

Technicolor, four glamorous girls are brought 

to the film capital to test for the femme lead 

in a big-budget picture. Stars George Nader, 

Julie Adams, Elsa Martinelli. Producer, Aaron 

Rosenberg. Director, Jack Sher. 

WARNER BROS. 

"Buffalo Grass." From a western novel by 

Frank Gruber, this outdoor drama will be 

lensed under the banner of Jaguar Productions, 

the independent unit headed by 

Alan Ladd. Stars Ladd and Virginia Mayo. 

Director not set. 

"The Old Man and the Sea." To be filmed 

partly on location in Cuba, this is based on 

the widely read novel by Ernest Hemingway. 

Stars Spencer Tracy. Producer, Leland Hayward. 

Director, Fred Zinnemann. In Warner- 

Color. 

Michael Rennie on Loanout; 

Ziva Shapir Also Loaned 

Working overtime was the loanout department. 

Paramount put the bite on 20th Century-Fox 

for the services of Michael Rennie 

as one of the topliners in "The Loves of Omar 

Khayyam," while Bel-Air Productions, the 

unit headed by Aubrey Schenck and Howard 

W. Koch, borrowed Ziva Shapir, 21-year-old 

actress from Israel, from Universal-International 

for the femme lead in "Pharaoh's 

Curse," current Bel-Air entry for United Artists 

distribution . . . The Hecht-Lancaster organization, 

which already has cast Montgomery 

Clift as Dick Dudgeon and Burt Lancaster 

as the Reverend Anderson in the 

vehicle, booked no less a personage than Sir 

Laurence Olivier to portray Burgoyne, the 

British general, in its upcoming film version 

. . . Songstress 

of George Bernard Shaw's "The Devil's 

Disciple" . . Allied Artists set Nelson Leigh 

. 

for a character lead in the Lindsley Parsons 

production. "The Intruder" 

Robin Raymond was booked for "Beyond a 

Reasonable Doubt." the Dana Andrews-Joan 

Fontaine starrer, which Bert Friedlob is producing 

for RKO Radio. 

Roger Corman to Produce 

Two for Allied Artists 

In addition to his own slate of ten features, 

being blueprinted for filming during 

the balance of 1956, producer-director Roger 

Corman has been inked to turn out two subjects, 

both in the science-fiction category, 

for Allied Artists release. The initialer, "The 

Girl Beneath the Sea," will roll in May from 

a script by Curtis Harrington, and will be 

followed later this year by "Not of This 

World," currently being penned by Charles 

Griffith and Mark Hanna. 

Before doing "Girl" for AA, Corman will 

gun "It Conquered the World," a Sunset production, 

for American Releasing Corp. 

In line with his expanded activity, Corman 

has boosted Lou Place from assistant director 

to production manager; Bob Bregman 

from production coordinator to associate producer; 

David Kramarsky from production assistant 

to story editor, and Barbara Bohrer 

to assistant to Corman. 

Lex Barker Purchases 

Reevie's "Red Sundown' 

Short takes from the sound stages: Lex 

Barker, who formed Delbar Productions a 

couple of years ago, before he was signed 

to an exclusive acting ticket at Universal- 

International, has acquired "Red Sundown," 

an original by James M. Reevie, and added 

it to the Delbar agenda . . . "Tiger on a 

Kite" has been set as the title of Marlon 

Brando's adventure drama backgrounded by 

the United Nations Technical Assistance Program. 

The film, slated to go before the 

cameras in 1957, will be the second entry 

under Brando's Pennebaker banner and will 

be made in partnership with Paramount. The 

actor is currently touring southeastern Asia 

on a fact-finding survey . . . Unable to get 

together on contractual details, director Anthony 

Mann and Mario Lanza have called off 

their proposed remake of "Golden Boy" at 

Columbia. They plan to team on another 

as-yet-unselected property for another studio. 

U-I Buys 'One Way Out' 

From Frank Sinatra 

At one time charted for production by 

Frank Sinatra under the banner of his independent 

unit, "One Way Out," an original 

melodrama by George Seaton and Robert 

Pirosh, has been purchased from him by 

Universal-International, which added the 

vehicle to the agenda of producer Howard 

Christie. Richard Landau was assigned to 

prepare the screenplay, which deals with an 

ex-fighter who becomes involved with a gang 

of criminals ... To MGM went screen 

rights to "The Fool Killer," a novel by Helen 

Eustis, as well as a teleplay by Dale Wasserman 

based on the tome. Handed the co-production 

reins were Jud Kinberg and Edgar 

Small. Slotted for the 1956-57 production 

slate, the property has as its principal characters 

a runaway boy and a mentally ill exsoldier. 

'Keller' to de Rochemont 

NEW YORK—Louis de Rochemont Associates 

has acquired worldwide distribution 

rights to "Helen Keller in Her Story," an 

Academy Award winner. The film had an extended 

run at the Guild Theatre here. Katharine 

Cornell does a narration. 

'Typee' to Be First 

Huston Film for AA 

NEW YORK—The first of three pictures 

that John Huston will make for Allied Artists 

in a stock participation arrangement 

will be "Typee," the Herman Melville romance 

about a New Englander in the South 

Seas. He is negotiating with Gregory Peck 

to star in it. Peck and he were associated 

in the filming of "Moby Dick," a Moulin 

production to be released by Warner Bros. 

Huston will write, produce and direct 

"Typee." He flew to Ireland March 24 where 

he will spend a month at his Galway home 

working on the screenplay. He will then fly 

to Tahiti to select locations and sign a native 

to play the Polynesian maiden, Fayaway. 

From there he will go to New Bedford, Mass., 

for a four-day Melville festival during the 

premiere of "Moby Dick," then return to 

Tahiti to start production July 15. 

No budget on "Typee" can be set until 

the 

script is finished. It will be shot in the new 

Technicolor process. Huston said a special 

camera is used to shoot in 35mm but that 

the aspect ratio is variable up to the size 

of Todd-AO. The printing will be done at 

the Technicolor plant in England. Allied 

Artists did not comment on whether it will 

handle foreign distribution. 

As previously reported, Huston's two other 

pictures for AA will be "Alouette" and "The 

Man Who Would Be King." He said he had 

no other commitments and planned none 

because it was to his advantage because of 

his stock interest in AA to produce for that 

company. However, he said, he could seek 

AA permission to produce for another company. 

Huston said he was "delighted" with the 

Academy Awards. He thought the selection 

of "Marty" as top picture could mean a 

"temporary shot in the arm" for small exhibitors 

as it should encourage independent 

production and help to relieve product shortage. 

Continental Opens at Dallas 

NEW YORK — Continental 

Distributing, 

Inc., headed by Frank Kassler, has opened an 

exchange in Dallas as part of its general expansion. 

Ray Jones is manager. He was formerly 

with the Interstate Circuit. 

\ Our 31 Years In Theatre Advertising Assures the 

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BOXOFFICE March 31, 1956 

39

Six Reasons Listed for Optimism 

About Business Next Few Months 

COLUMBUS—Six reasons for optimism 

about business in the next few months have 

been listed by Al Boudouris, Toledo drive-in 

operator who also is in the theatre equipment 

business. 

Here are the six points: 

1. Easter is earlier this year and therefore 

the post-lenten increase in business will be 

earlier. 

2. The long-range weather forecast indicates 

that warm weather will come earlier 

and more strongly than in previous years. 

Precipitation will be normal or slightly above, 

but spring will be warm and sudden and it 

will stay with us. Summer will be normal in 

precipitation, but cooler than last year. 

3. There are approximately 15 per cent 

more cars on the highway this year than last 

year. People always want to do everything 

on their "four wheels" and more people have 

cars to come to the theatres. 

4. The national installment debt is at an 

alltime high. People are making payments on 

everything they have bought. Therefore, they 

cannot take expensive vacations or go very 

far. Thus, more of them will be available for 

filmgoing. 

5. There will be more political television and 

radio broadcasts than in normal years. Therefore, 

people will be driven out of the house 

more than ever before because the TV set 

will be less interesting. 

6. The film companies will release better 

product during the summer period. 

CALENDARiEVENTS 

APRIL

4 

20ih-Fox '55 Earnings 

In $2,019,475 Drop 

NEW YORK—Consolidated net earnings 

of 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. and subsidiaries 

for the 53-week fiscal year ending 

Dec. 31, 1955, were $6,025,039. For the 52- 

Week previous fiscal year the net was 

$8,044,524. 

The 1955 net was at the rate of $2.28 per 

share on the 2.644,486 shares of common outstanding. 

For the previous year the net was 

at the rate of $3.04 per share on the same 

number of shares. 

The earnings for the fourth quarter 14 

weeks ended Dec. 31. 1955 were $1,578,188, 

equal to 60 cents per share, as compared 

with $2,312,461 for the fourth quarter 13 

weeks of 1954. equal to 87 cents per share. 

The earnings for the third quarter of 1955 

were $1,656,051, or 62 cents per share. 

A new amortization table for films was set 

up in the fourth quarter to adjust for the 

slower payoff of Cinemascope films. The 

total amortization period remains at 65 weeks. 

The company reported that well No. 8 at 

the studio has proved to be one of the best 

wells to date, with an initial production of 

900 barrels per day. 

Benefit Raises $25,000 

At 'Alexander' Opening 

NEW YORK—More than $25,000 in ticket 

sales proceeds was raised for the National 

B'nai B'rith Agencies at the benefit opening 

of Richard Rossen's "Alexander the Great" at 

the Capitol Theatre March 28. The picture 

began its regular run Thursday (29). 

Mayor Robert F. Wagner headed the notables 

who attended the opening and others 

present, included: 

Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows, Lee Bowman, Red 

Buttons, Wendell Corey, Hume Cronyn and Jessica 

Tandy, Denise Darcel, Linda Darnell, Faye Emerson, 

Nanette Fabray, Glenda Farrell, Eddie Fisher and 

Debbie Reynolds, David Ffolkes, Hermione Gingold, 

Helen Hayes, Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, 

Celeste Holm, Lena Home, Barry Jones, Jan Kean, Bert 

Lahr, Peter Lawford, Joseph Mankiewicz, Terry Moore, 

Arnold Moss, Otto Preminger, Gregory Ratoff, Zachary 

Scott and Robert Rossen who wrote, produced and 

directed the CinemaScope-Technicolor picture. 

United Artists officials who attended included: 

Arthur B. Knm, president, Robert S. Benpamin, 

chairman of the board; William J. Heineman, vicepresident 

in charge of distribution; Max E. Youngstein, 

vice-president, ond Leon Goldberg, Seymour 

Peyser, Roger H. Lewis, James R. Velde, Milton E. 

Cohen and Al Fetter. Other industry leaders present 

included: Harry Brandt, Richard Brandt, Jack Cohn, 

George Dembow, Jack Ellis, Si Fabian, Joseph Felder, 

Emanuel Fnsch, William J. German, Harry Goldstone, 

Arthur Israel jr., Bernard Jacon, Leo Jaffe, Moe Kerman. 

Jack Levin, Martin Levine, A. Montague, Edward 

Morey, Harold Rinzler, Samuel Rinzler, Budd Rogers, 

Saul Rogers, Sam Rosen, Robert Sarnoff, Abe 

Schneider, A. W. Schwalberg, George Waldman and 

Robert Weitman. 

Several celebrities arrived at the opening 

in racing chariots or on elephants. Lobby 

interviews, were conducted by George Jessel, 

which were shown on Steve Allen's "Tonight" 

TV program on NBC. A taped recording of the 

show was broadcast over a 300-station Mutual 

network on the Ray Heatherton show and 

over the 200-station "Monitor" network on 

NBC. 

Bomb Threat at Theatre 

NEWARK—About 450 customers were 

driven from their seats by an evening bomb 

scare at the Branford. At 10:25 Manager 

John Stanek was warned by phone that the 

theatre would be blown up at 11. Police 

herded patrons to the back of the theatre 

while a special squad searched the premises. 

No bomb was found. 

BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 

'Eden Review by Regents 

Scheduled for May 3, 

ALBANY—"Garden of Eden," film with a 

dramatic and romantic story set in a Florida 

sun-bathing nudist camp, will be viewed by 

a Regents' subcommittee and will be considered 

by the full board at a meeting here 

May 3. 4 during the annual convocation of 

the University of the State of New York. 

Produced by Excelsior Pictures Corp. and 

exhibited in 36 states, Washington. D. C, 

Alaska and Hawaii for total playdates of 

958 and estimated attendance of 1,628,146, the 

film was refused a license last November by 

the State Education Department's motion 

picture division, unless many scenes in reels 

1 to 4 were eliminated. 

The division's reviewers held that shots 

of a girl's pubic area, of women's breasts and 

buttocks, and of men's buttocks were "indecent." 

On appeal, their findings were upheld 

by Dr. Ward C. Bowen, acting director 

of the censoring agency. Excelsior then appealed 

to the Regents for a review and reversal 

of the division's decision. 

A many-paged petition, prepared by Attorney 

Sol A. Rosenblatt, of New York, argued 

that none of the scenes are "indecent" within 

the content of the state's laws. He contended 

that "indecent" is not defined in the licensing 

statute or in the Regents' regulations. The 

petition set forth that only one censor board, 

that in Pennsylvania, had rejected the picture, 

and the turndown there would be appealed. 

"So far as can be determined, neither the 

board (Regents) nor its motion picture 

division has ever established an objective 

standard of decency to be applied to motion 

pictures. Without exception, all of the court 

decisions to condemn motion pictures, books. 

Celebrities Will Attend 

'Miracle' Benefit Show 

NEW YORK—Leading civic and society 

personages and theatrical talent will attend a 

special performance of "Miracle in the Rain," 

Warner Bros, film, Wednesday (4> at Loew's 

State Theatre. Mayor Robert F. Wagner, 

guest of honor, will present a city citation 

to the Cathedral Canteen for its services 

to the armed forces. The show will be a 

benefit for the canteen. 

Warner Bros, reported acceptances had 

been received from Perry Como. Ed Sullivan, 

James A. Farley. Angier B. Duke. Frank 

Walker. Thomas J. Curran. John Curry. 

William McCormick and Thomas Murray of 

the Atomic Energy Commission. 

There will be a service color guard and 12 

of the canteen's most beautiful hostesses. The 

public will be admitted at regular boxoffice 

prices. The picture opened Saturday (81). 

Brooklyn Palace Is Sold 

NEW YORK—The 2,000-seat Palace Theatre 

at 1362 East New York Ave.. Brooklyn, 

a former Loew's house, has been sold by Berk 

and Krumgold, real estate firm, to an investing 

client of Milton Levitan of Gainsburg, 

Gottlieb, Levitan & Cole. It is being 

rehabilitated. New equipment will include 

Cinemascope projection and air conditioning. 

photographs, paintings and the like as indecent, 

invariably couple the term 'indecency' 

with lust, lechery, immorality, corruption of 

morals, lasciviousness, salaciousness or similar 

offenses against the public morality. Indecency 

which merely offends a person's sense of 

proprieties and goes no further is not legally 

objectionable, since our courts are not censors 

and do not attempt to regulate manners. 

Petitioner submits that the construction of 

said term by the Division in this proceeding 

is at violence with the general public understanding 

of said terms." the petition stated. 

"Garden" is completely clean in action and 

dialog, the petition stated. It is far less 

objectionable than a number of licensed and 

exhibited films dealing with the peoples of 

the South Seas, Africa and Asia. 

The reply, signed by Helen H. Kellogg, acting 

director of the motion picture division, 

pointed out that Dr. Bowen's stand upholding 

the reviewers conformed to the provisions 

of Sec. 122, education law. It declared "the 

portions of the film directed to be eliminated 

were indecent within the meaning of the 

governing statute." 

Answering petitioner's observation about 

works of art. the acting director said it was 

not relevant. Her words: "Here is no inanimate, 

incidental portrayal of the human 

figure in art within the accepted practices of 

our society. Our society respects the portrayal 

of the human form in art under proper 

circumstances as acceptable. The community 

is so oriented. It regards other exposure as 

indecent and reflects this standard in its 

laws. The findings of the division must 

necessarily reflect this widely recognized distinction." 

Legitimate Theatres Push 

Ticket Tax Campaign 

NEW YORK—Legitimate theatre groups 

have steamed up their campaign for elimination 

of ticket taxes on live shows. The drive 

is a joint effort of the National Ass'n of the 

Legitimate Theatre, formerly the League of 

New York Theatres, and the Association of 

Concert Managers. 

Letters have been sent to all members of 

Congress. They were signed by Herman Levin, 

president; Lawrence Langner, tax committee 

chairman, and James F. Reilly, executive director, 

for the theatre association, and by 

Roland E. Chesley, president; Julius Bloom, 

secretary, and Patrick Hayes, tax committee 

chairman, for the concert managers. 

Counsel has been engaged. 

Gobel to Tour Key Cities 

For 'Birds and the Bees' 

NEW YORK—George Gobel. television 

comedian starring in "The Birds and the 

Bees," will aid Paramount promotion of the 

picture by taking part in 

He will 

a tour of key cities. 

be m Chicago when the picture opens 

May 2 at the State Lake Theatre and back 

here two days later when it opens at the 

nount Theatre. The promotion will include 

stage appearances. 

41

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'Serenade Has Smash Opening Week; 

'Anything Goes Good in Pre-Easter 

NEW YORK—Holy Week, always a poor 

season for theatregoing, was better than the 

previous week in New York, when the snowstorm 

struck. The first of the Easter attractions, 

"Serenade," coupled with the Radio 

City Music Hall's annual Easter stage pageant, 

scored its usual smash opening week, 

while "Anything Goes" also had a strong 

opening week at the Paramount. A new art 

house film, "Touch and Go" at the Guild 

Theatre just back of the Music Hall, also 

had a good opening stanza. 

Except for "Carousel," coupled with the 

Roxy's ice stage revue, which had a good 

sixth week that equalled the preceding week 

and will hold through the Easter holidays, 

most of the other long run holdovers were 

mild, including "The Benny Goodman Story," 

in its fifth and final week at the Capitol; 

"The Last Hunt," in its fourth and final 

week at Loew's State, and "All That Heaven 

Allows," in its fourth and final week at the 

Mayfair. However, "The Man With the Golden 

Arm," in its 15th week at the Victoria, was 

better than the previous snowbound week 

and will hold through Easter. "Meet Me in 

Las Vegas" had a fine second week at the 

As tor. 

The new pictures that opened just before 

the Easter season included three in Cinema- 

Scope, "The Conqueror," "On the Threshold 

of Space" and "Tribute to a Bad Man," and 

"Patterns" and "Miracle in the Rain," both 

in black-and-white. 

The majority of the art houses, hit by the 

storm of the previous week, were up during 

Holy Week. 

(Average Is 100) 

Astor Meet Me in Las Vegas (MGM), 2nd wk. . .140 

Baronet Adorable Creatures (Continental), 

1 lth wk 105 

Bijou— Richard II (Lopert), 3rd wk. of two-a-day .. 1 1 

Capitol The Benny Goodman Story (U-l), 5th wk. 100 

Criterion Slightly Scarlet (RKO), 2nd wk 100 

Fine Arts Diobolique (UMPO), 17th wk 125 

55th St. Citizen Kane (RKO), reissue, 5th wk. . . 1 20 

Globe Sins of the Borgias (Aidart), 4th wk 105 

Guild—Touch and Go (U-l) 120 

Little Carnegie Don Juan (Times), 3rd wk 115 

Loew's State The Last Hunt (MGM), 4th wk 110 

Mayfair All That Heaven Allows (U-l), 4th wk. 100 

Normandie Fantasia (Buena Vista), reissue, 

7th wk 110 

Palace Hot Blood (Col), plus vaudeville 110 

Paramount Anything Goes (Para) 140 

Paris Letters From My Windmill (Tohan), 14th 

wk 110 

Plazo The House of Ricordi (Manson), 2nd wk. 115 

Radio City Music Hall Serenade (WB), plus Easter 

1 60 

two-a 

stage 

Rivoli 

show 

Oklahoma! (Magna), 24th wk of 

day 

115 

6th 

Roxy Carousel (20th-Fox), 

wk 

plus ice revue, 

120 

Sutton The Ladykillers (Continental), 5th wk...l40 

Trans-Lux 52nd St. Doctor at Sea (Rep), 4th wk. 140 

Victoria The Man with the Golden Arm (UA), 

15th wk 115 

Warner Cinerama Holiday (SW), 59th wk of 

two-a-day 1 25 

World Dark River (Times), 5th wk 110 

Second Week of 'Las Vegas' 

Grosses 140 in Buiialo 

BUFFALO—Holy Week dug into receipts 

this week as usual and business was quiet 

along first run row. "Meet Me in Las Vegas," 

however, turned in 140 in its second stanza at 

Shea's Buffalo. The combination "Mister 

Roberts," and "Rebel Without a Cause," in 

spite of the fact that only one Oscar was 

involved in both did exceptionally well last 

weekend and ended up with a 115 in the 

Paramount. Trie Cinema ended its run of 

"Guys and Dolls" with a 14th week. 

Buffalo—Meet Me in Las Vegas (MGM), 2nd wk..l40 

Center On the Threshold of Space (20th-Fox), 

2nd wk 85 

Century Invasion of the Body Snatchers (AA); 

Indestructible Man (AA) 90 

Cinema Guys and Dolls (MGM), 14th wk 95 

Lafayette Square Jungle (U-l), Red Sundown 

(U-l) 105 

Paramount Mister Roberts (WB), Rebel Without a 

Cause (WB) 115 

Pre-Easter Shoppers Cut 

Down Boxoffices 

BALTIMORE—Pre-Easter shopping apparently 

offered stiff competition to the first 

runs. Although the downtown districts had 

crowds, they were not exactly lining up at 

the boxoffices. Of the holdovers, "Oklahoma!" 

was strong every night; matinees only fair; 

"Carousel" did well, too, considering the preholiday 

situation. 

Century Carousel (20th-Fox), 3rd wk 95 

Film Centre Oklahoma! (Magna), 3rd wk 200 

Hippodrome Picnic (Col), 5th wk 85 

Little Too Bad She's Bad (Getz-Kingsley), 2nd 

vk. 

Mayfair The Kettles in the Ozarks (U-l) 85 

New—Outlaw Girl (Clark); The Wayward Wife 

(Clark) 85 

Town I'll 

Playhouse 

Cry Tomorrow 

The Prisoner 

(MGM), 

(Col), 

4th 

3rd 

wk 

wk 

90 

90 

Stanley Mister Roberts (WB); Rebel Without a 

Cause (WB) 85 

The Cinema Animal Farm (DCA) 95 

'Rose Tattoo' Scores 150 

In Pittsburgh Debut 

PITTSBURGH—"The Rose Tattoo" was a 

big winner at the Stanley Theatre, while 

"Meet Me in Las Vegas" disappointed at 

the Penn. 

The Man Who Never Was (20th-Fox). ... 60 

Fulton 

Harris Picnic (Col), 4th wk 85 

Penn Meet Me in Las Vegas (MGM) 90 

Stanley The Rose Tattoo (Para) 1 50 

Four Reade Managers Win 

Monthly Contest Prizes 

NEW YORK—Four managers were winners 

of the Walter Reade Theatres "Manager of 

the Month" contest for December and January. 

Bert Greene of the St. James Theatre, 

Asbury Park, N. J., won first prize for December 

and Joe Sommers of the Paramount 

Theatre, Long Branch, N. J., second prize. 

Mike Dorso of the Community, Kingston, 

N. Y., and Michael Brett of the Carlton, Red 

Bank, N. J., shared top honors for January. 

Cash prizes are awarded for the best job in 

advertising, exploitation, public relations and 

physical management of the theatre. 

MRS. SKOURAS HONORED — Mrs. 

Julia Skouras, center, wife of George P. 

Skouras, is shown receiving Italy's highest 

honor—the Star of Solidarity First Class 

—at the Boys Towns of Italy dinner in 

the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom, New York, 

Thursday (22). Presenting the award is 

Italian Ambassador Manlio Brosio. Seen 

at the left is Monsignor John Patrick 

Carroll- Abbing, president of Boys Towns of 

Italy, who was guest of honor. Mayor and 

Mrs. Wagner, Secretary of State and Mrs. 

Carmine G. DeSapio, City Council President 

and Mrs. Abe Stark, City Controller 

and Mrs. Lawrence E. Gerosa were 

among the guests. Mrs. Skouras was one 

of the leaders in efforts to raise funds 

for nine Boys Towns in Italy. 

Jacon Reissues 'Hamlet'; 

More Prints on 'Samurai' 

NEW YORK—Jacon Film Distributors has 

acquired reissue rights to Sir Laurence 

Olivier's "Hamlet," J. Arthur Rank picture 

originally distributed in the U. S. by Universal 

in 1948, the first of a series of reissues, according 

to Bernard Jacon, president. 

Jacon's first release, "Samurai," the 

Japanese film which won the Academy Award 

as the "best foreign film of 1955," has its 22 

Eastman Color prints booked solidly for the 

next six weeks so Jacon has sent a rush order 

to Japan for 18 more prints to meet the demands 

of U. S. exhibitors, Jacon said. He 

expects that the Academy Award for 

"Samurai," which was announced on the TV 

show, would account for a jump of from two 

to three times the ordinary gross for the 

IFE Reissues Two Magnani 

Films Following Awards 

NEW YORK—Anna Magnani's Academy 

Award for "The Rose Tattoo," has influenced 

IFE Releasing Corp. to re-release the Italian 

star's two earlier films, "The Golden Coach," 

a Technicolor picture directed by Jean Renoir, 

the only other English-language picture starring 

Magnani, and "Bellissima," an Italianlanguage 

film which won Italy's Silver Ribbon 

Award. 

Exhibitors expressed interest in both these 

Magnani pictures, according to Seymour Poe, 

IFE executive vice-president. 

£

. . Leo 

. . Les 

Leon Goldberg Is Named 

UJA Industry Chairman 

NEW YORK—Leon Goldberg, vice-president 

and treasurer of United Artists, will be 

the chairman of the United Jewish Appeal 

Motion Picture and Amusements Division for 

this year's drive. The first organization meeting 

of the executive committee was held Monday 

(26) in the office of Barney Balaban. 

president of Paramount. 

Adolph Schimel, vice-president and general 

counsel of Universal-International, who has 

been chairman for the past three years, introduced 

Goldberg at the meeting. 

Rabbi Herbert Friedman, a vice-chairman 

of the National UJA Drive, described the 

Barney Balaban, president of Paramount 

Pictures; Leon Goldberg, vicepresident 

and treasurer of United Artists, 

and Adolph Schimel, vice-president and 

general counsel of Universal-international, 

line up plans for United Jewish 

Appeal campaign. Goldberg is the 1956 

chairman. 

tense situation prevailing in Israel during 

the past three years. 

Goldberg issued a statement in which he 

said: "This year, more than ever before, we 

must make our greatest effort in behalf of 

the United Jewish Appeal The cruel tensions 

which the refugees from the shores of North 

Africa are daily undergoing in the border 

settlements of Israel are brought to our 

attention every morning in the daily press. 

For the relief, resettlement and in many cases 

the survival of the refugees, what we are able 

to accomplish, both individually and in our 

industry-wide effort this year, may well be 

decisive for years to come. The atmosphere 

of fear and tension to which these people are 

being subjected every day, may, if it is 

not alleviated, affect the future of our people 

everywhere." 

La Badie Named Assistant 

To Joseph Maternati 

NEW YORK—Donald La Badie has been 

appointed executive assistant to Joseph 

Maternati. head of the Office du Cinema 

Francais, devoted to exploring and expanding 

the market for French films in the U. S. 

La Badie is resigning as television editor 

and film reviewer for the Film Daily, with 

which he has been affiliated since 1952. 

Previously he was with John Wiley and Sons, 

educational book publishers. The French 

organization will move to 654 Madison Ave. 

this 

week. 

Etkin New DuMont Counsel 

NEW YORK—George Etkin, former partner 

in the law firm of Gale and Falk. baa 

been appointed general counsel of the Allen 

B. DuMont Laboratories. Inc. 

BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 

BROADWAY 

ârryl F. Zanuck, production head of 20th 

Century-Fox, who will soon be replaced 

by Buddy Adler, is in New York from Europe 

for conferences with Spyros P. Skouras. president, 

and to check on the final print of his 

personal production, "The Man In the Gray 

Flannel Suit" before it opens in April . . . 

Russell Holman, Paramount's eastern production 

head, planed in from England March 

25 and Syd Hyams, managing director of 

Eros Films of London, flew in from London 

March 23 as did Hal Hackett, president of 

Official Films ... In the U. S., James R. 

Velde, general sales manager of United 

Artists, is back from Baltimore and Washington 

after meeting with district and branch 

executives, and Milton E. Cohen, UA eastern 

and southern manager, is at the home office 

after attending these same meets and Seymour 

Schussel, IFE Releasing Corp. eastern 

division sales head, returned from meetings 

in Boston with Al Herman, district manager. 

Players on the move included: Merle Oberon, 

who sailed to Europe on the Queen Mary 

March 27; Zsa Zsa Gabor, who got in from 

the coast March 24 to work on the finishing 

touches of "Beauty and the Bullfighter," 

which was filmed in France and Spain; 

Elaine Stritch, who left the cast of the 

current Broadway hit, "Bus Stop," to fly to 

Hollywood for a featured role in Paramount's 

"The Maverick;" Fess Parker, who went to 

London to start a tour of European capitals 

which will coincide with the openings of his 

Disney picture, "Davy Crockett, King of the 

Wild Frontier"; Barry Nelson, who completed 

his role in RKO's "The First Traveling Saleslady" 

before coming to New York to begin rehearsals 

of his new Broadway starring role 

in "Wake Up Darling," and William Campbell, 

who got in from the coast for promotion 

for "Backlash," Universal film which will 

open at the RKO Palace in April. 

Alex Cooperman, west coast division representative 

for Jacon Film Distributors, returned 

to the coast after a week of meetings 

with Bernard Jacon in New York . F. 

Samuels, president and general sales manager 

of Buena Vista, and James O'Gara, eastern 

division manager, went to Atlanta to 

meet with the company's southeast district 

men . . . Nat Levy, RKO eastern sales manager, 

left for Dallas March 26. 

Gus S. Eyssell, president of Rockefeller 

Center, got back from a European trip. Robert 

S. Wolff. RKO's managing director for 

the United Kingdom, returned to London 

after home office conferences on forthcoming 

product. Other executives traveling during 

the week included: Max E. Youngstein, vicepresident 

of United Artists, who got back 

from the coast Friday (23); Charles J. Feldman, 

vice-president and general sales manager 

of Universal, who went to California to 

see recently completed product; Richard W. 

Altschuler, Republic director of worldwide 

sales, who flew to the coast for sales meetings, 

and Manny Reiner. IFE Releasing Corp. 

general sales head, who left for Denver, Salt 

Lake City and Los Angeles. 

Claudette Colbert, who was New York mistress 

of ceremonies at the Academy Awards 

presentation at the Century Theatre, Is here 

to rehearse for the starring role in the Broadway 

stage hit, "Janus," in which she will 

replace Margaret Sullivan early in April. She 

also was present at the most glittering opening 

of the season, "My Fair Lady," at the 

Hellinger Theatre, which also saw Faye Emerson, 

Basil Rathbone, Margaret Truman, Marjorie 

Gateson, Howard Lindsay and Dorothy 

Stickney applauding Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, 

Stanley Holloway and the other British 

stars heading the cast . . . Carol Channing 

returned from Hollywood with her 3-year-old 

son after completing her first big film role 

in RKO's "The First Traveling Saleslady" . . . 

Carleton Carpenter flew in from the coast to 

discuss heading a touring company of 

"Where's Charley?" this spring. 

Mary Price, secretary to Mort Nathanson, 

publicity manager of United Artists, has become 

engaged to Samuel Greenblatt. The 

wedding is planned for April 29 . . . Leona 

Vergara, formerly secretary to Tom Gerety 

of the MGM home office advertising depart- 

. . . 

ment, is the mother of a six-pound baby girl, 

Daniel Smolen, 20th Century-Fox 

Laurie Ellen . . . 

purchasing manager, became a 

grandfather for the first time with the birth 

of a five-pound girl, Marjorie Jane, to his 

daughter, Mrs. Julian Polis of Stamford, 

Conn. Jack Bellman, vice-president and 

general manager of Favorite Pictures, is recuperating 

at Lenox Hill Hospital from a 

fractured ankle. 

Marlene Dietrich, Eddie Fisher and Debbie 

Reynolds, Johnny Johnston and Charles Ditmars 

were among the celebrities on hand for 

the New York opening of "Mr. Wonderful." 

starring Sammy Davis jr. . . . Celeste Holm, 

who completed "High Society," starring Grace 

Kelly, is in town from Hollywood . . . Raymond 

Massey flew to the coast March 25 to 

play a starring role in Paramount's "The 

Loves of Omar Khayyam." 

. 

Arthur Silverstone, 20th Century-Fox assistant 

general sales manager, is convalescing 

at home after minor surgery at Mt. Sinai 

. Marvin Fish, production 

Hospital March 26 . . 

assistant in United Artists' advertis- 

ing department, is the father of Alan David, 

born to Mrs. Fish March 23 . . . Mrs. Ben 

Frye, wife of the executive vice-president of 

Studio Films, is giving her first New York 

one-woman show at the Copain Gallery in 

March and April. Mrs. Frye is known in the 

art world as Debra Kaufman, advertising 

and public relations director for 

UPA Pictures, is in New York to meet with 

consumer and trade publications on UPA's 

forthcoming cartoon films. 

Shirley Jones Accepts 

Award for 'Threshold' 

NEW YORK—Shirley Jones, star of the current 

"Oklahoma!" and "Carousel," accepted 

a special citation of merit for 20th Century- 

Fox for its production of "On the Threshold 

of Space" from Lt. Col. Hugh A. Day of the 

New York office of Information of the An 

Force at the opening of the picture at the 

Globe Theatre March 29. The award was 

signed by Maj. Gen. Dan C. Ogle, surgeon 

general of the Air Force. 

A 60-piece Air Force band from Mitchell 

Field marched to the Globe and serenaded 

the crowds for 30 minutes and top military 

officials also attended the opening. 

Bud Thack.iy is photographing Republic's 

"The Warren.s of Arizona." 

43

. . 20th-Fox 

ALBANY 

. 

f"*hris Pope, Schine booker for the Albany 

and Buffalo territories, spent two and 

a half days here arranging dates with distributing 

companies. He received congratulations 

from Filmrowers on winning a Schine 

home office pool for picking Academy award 

winners is arranging with the 

Schine circuit for a premiere of "Mohawk" at 

the Mohawk Theatre in Amsterdam April 24, 

and far exhibition in a string of Schine 

houses across the state that week. Several of 

its personalities will attend the opening in 

Amsterdam . . . Clyde Dickerson has been 

transferred by the Schine circuit from its 

Cleveland offices to the main headquarters 

in Gloversville as short subject booker for 

the Albany and Buffalo districts. He succeeds 

Dick Welles, who resigned to enter the 

radio and television sales field with his 

brother. They are handling a game used in 

both media. Welles lives in Johnstown, adjoining 

Gloversville. 

Johnny Gardner reopened the Turnpike 

Drive-In at Westmere last weekend (23). 

Newspaper copy noted, "We have removed the 

snow from most of the ground," referring to 

the foot or more which fell March 16 . . . 

The Walter Reade circuit set reopening of the 

9-W Drive-In at Kingston for the 30th . . . 

Don Gilson plans to relight the Sunset near 

Massena and the Bay in Alexandria Bay 

April 13. 

Visitors included Johnny Moore, eastern 

division assistant sales manager for Paramount 

and onetime Albany manager; Joe 

Agresta, who operates two theatres in Massena 

and the Star-Lit Drive-In at Watertown, 

and Dominick Carillo, conductor of the Hudson 

River Drive-In at Stillwater . . . "Mister 

Roberts," one of the Academy nominations 

for best picture, and "Rebel Without a Cause," 

starring James Dean, winner of the Audience 

Award for the best actor, was at the Ritz in 

Albany. "Marty" started a rerun at the 

Delaware five hours before it won the 

Academy award as the top picture. 

Continued snowfalls, with cold weather, 

either delayed the reopenings of area driveins 

or made the cleanup job a major one. 

Alan Iselin's Auto-Vision, at East Greenbush, 

postponed its scheduled relighting. Johnny 

Gardner reported removing 800 truckloads 

of the white stuff—at a cost of $300—to get 

the Turnpike at Westmere into operation the 

same night. A further deposit of five inches 

on March 24 required more plowing. While 

Gardner did not clean the entire area, he 

had enough space available for profitable patronage 

the first two nights. For future protection, 

Johnny plans to buy a device like 

the one used in Albany to remove snow from 

the curb. It throws the white stuff to the 

side, as much as 200 feet, Gardner pointed 

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. . . out Sun alone was not expected to be 

sufficient for the removal of snow and drifts 

in automobilers—before scheduled Easter relightings. 

The Albany Airport recorded 32 

inches of snow in March (up to the 26th), 

this being only eight inches shy of the total 

fall for December, January and February. 

The March total was the third highest in 

local history. 

. . 

Jack Baker's Horror Show drew a capacity 

audience to the 1,920-seat Strand at 11:30 

p.m. Friday (23) An hour before it started, 

there were lines in both directions from the 

boxoffice. The crowd, chiefly teenagers, broke 

a glass in a front door and damaged two 

The show did not pull 

lobby display cases . . . 

heavily at the Troy in Troy Thursday evening, 

Filmrow heard. The Avon, Utica, played it 

Saturday . Among those taking a gander 

in the Strand were Bernie Brooks, chief buyer 

for Fabian, and Elias Schlenger, division 

manager. A date at the Fox in Brooklyn was 

reported under consideration. 

The Strand will bounce with Rock-A-Rama, 

stage show headed by the Three Chuckles and 

the Penguins, recording stars April 4, 5, four 

performances daily. Manager Al LaFlamme 

said Eddie Fontaine, Shirley Gunter, Arnold 

Dover and the Blockbusters are in the cast. 

George Schneck Honored 

By Albany Variety Club 

ALBANY—One hundred sixty-five attended 

the Variety Club's dinner dance honoring 

George H. Schenck, retiring chief barker, in 

the Sheraton-Ten Eyck Hotel. The 13th 

annual affair, it was one of the largest and 

best. Schenck drew praise from Chief Barker 

Harold Gabrilove for outstanding services on 

behalf of Tent 9. 

Among those wiring regrets were Gov. 

Averell Harriman, an honorary member; 

Charles A. Smakwitz, Stanley Warner zone 

manager in Newark; Saul J. Ullman and Mrs. 

Ullman and Elias Schlenger, Fabian division 

manager. 

Judge George Myers, as emcee, read the 

messages and called on Jules Perlmutter, dinner 

committee chairman, and A. I. Milstein, 

entertainment chairman, for bows. 

Garry Stevens' orchestra played for dancing 

and for the floor show. 

Bernard Vane, 59, Dies 

ALBANY—Bernard W. "Barney" Vane, 59, 

who had served for 28 years as a projectionist 

in the Leland, died Saturday (24) at his home. 

A native of Windsor Locks, Conn., Vane lived 

in Albany 46 years. A requiem mass was celebrated 

Tuesday at St. Margaret Mary's 

Catholic Church, attended by a delegation 

from Local 324, IATSE. Survivors are his 

wife, three sons, two daughters, six sisters and 

a brother. 

Would Bar All Shows 

ALBANY—The Niskayuna town board 

scheduled another public hearing the night of 

April 1 on a proposed ordinance banning 

"carnivals, exhibitions, shows or motion pictures 

(talking or silent), outdoor drive-in 

motion pictures, conducted by any person 

for gain or profit." The ordinance aimed 

chiefly at continuing the town's primary 

classification as a residential area. 

341 W. 441b ST. 

Edward Earle will enact the role of a lawyer 

in U-I's "Francis in the Haunted House." 

BUFFALO 

lôre than $25,000 will be spent to enlarge 

the Skyway Lakeshore Drive-In refreshment 

stand, according to William Brett, general 

manager of Skyway Drive-in Theatres. 

The new stand will be 60x50 feet with a threelane 

cafeteria service, and necessitate elimination 

of 20 car spaces, but increased refreshment 

revenue is expected to make up 

for this. Brett hoped to get both the Lakeshore 

and the Niagara outdoorers open on 

Saturday (31) to take advantage of the first 

good weather. Both drive-ins will be repainted 

this season and the latest improvements in 

sound installed. 

Forty -four employes who have completed 

25 years of service at Rochester's Bausch & 

Lomb Optical Co. were honored at that firm's 

annual Early Settlers banquet. Incoming 

members boosted total membership in the 

25-year club to 1,166. Of that number, 816 

are still on the job. Bausch & Lomb is the 

company that produces the lenses used in 

Cinemascope. 

The Columbia, link in the Gammel chain, 

has been sold to a local congregation headed 

by Elder Charles Beck and will be converted 

into a church. The Gammel offices, which 

have been in the Columbia for years, will 

move to the New Ariel Theatre building, 185 

High St. The circuit is headed by George J. 

Gammel, former president of the MPTO of 

western New York. 

. . . Miss 

Doris Nosbisch, secretary to Leon Herman, 

manager of the Republic office, will be married 

April 14 to Jack Berkhoudt 

Barbara R. Saunders, a partner in Manhattan 

Studios, was winner of the $100 prize 

offered in the contest staged by the Center 

in connection with the showing of "The Deep 

Blue Sea." Ardis Smith and W. E. J. Martin, 

drama editors of the Evening News and 

Courier-Express, respectively, were the judges. 

The contest involved writing a letter of 200 

words or less on "How would you have advised 

Vivien Leigh to handle her personal problem 

in 'The Deep Blue Sea'?" The theatre offered 

the $100 in displays that were part of the 

regular theatre ads. 

"Guys and Dolls" went 14 weeks at the 

Cinema before being succeeded by "Marty." 

The Academy Award winner was shown at 

the Cinema in Rochester. Slotnick and Cohen 

operate both art type theatres 

G. Street, "the man at the 

. . . William 

tympani" at the 

Eastman in Rochester since its opening 34 

years ago, has retired. He will continue on the 

teaching staff of the Eastman School of 

Music. Street played in motion picture theatres 

in Rochester for many years. When the 

Eastman opened, he was a member of the orchestra 

in the Piccadilly, now the Paramount. 

. . 

"Plain and Fancy," the big Broadway 

musical hit, will open the first season June 15 

of the tented Melody Fair in Wurlitzer Park 

in North Tonawanda . Max Vinson, manager 

of the Monroe, a Schine house in 

Rochester, has a good business-building 

tieup with a music store in that city with 

prizes worth some $1,600. A coupon ticket 

is issued by the store and this ticket must be 

dropped in a box in the Monroe lobby. Five 

drawings in the theatre have been held so 

far. The store benefits as the coupon seeks 

information on the kind of musical sets the 

folks have in their homes, etc. 


Skouras Gives High 

Praise to Harrison 

NEW YORK—In making the formal announcement 

of the naming of Alex Harrison 

as general sales manager of 20th Century- 

Fox, Sypros P. Skouras, president, issued a 

statement in which he said the appointment 

was the result of recommendations by both 

Al Lichtman and William Gehring, who has 

become vice-president and assistant to 

Skouras. 

Commenting on the retirement of Lichtman 

from active direction of the sales forces, 

Skouras said: 

"His departure from active directorship of 

our sales forces is tempered by the knowledge 

that his wise and all-encompassing understanding 

of the film business will continue 

to be a source of strength upon which we can 

draw. I am happy that he will continue in 

an advisory status. 

"Under Mr. Lichtman's guidance, exhibitors 

were rallied to fight the economic inroads 

made by unfair free television, culminating 

in the inspiring service he gave to the launching 

of Cinemascope." 

Skouras had strong words of praise for 

Harrison. He said: 

"Alex Harrison is one of you. He has come 

from the grass roots ranks and he knows 

yours and the exhibitors' problems intimately. 

"I know that Al Lichtman's, Bill Gehring's 

and my confidence in him will be echoed a 

thousand-fold by you and your colleagues." 

Six of Redstone Drive-Ins 

Receiving New Equipment 

NEW YORK—Six Redstone Circuit driveins 

are installing the latest RCA projection 

and sound equipment, according to Michael 

Redstone, president. 

Installations of RCA Dyn-Arc lamp systems 

and projection lenses are already under way 

at three Redstone theatres in Massachusetts, 

the Dedham, Dedham; the Neponset, Dorchester, 

and the VHF Parkway, West Roxbury. 

At the Salina, Syracuse, N. Y., selenium 

rectifiers are being installed. 

At the Lakeshore, Rochester, RCA-200 

water-cooled projectors and a new power 

amplifier system are being installed to accommodate 

additional ramps. At the Washington, 

also in the Rochester area, RCA incar 

speakers and junction boxes are being 

installed. 

The equipment in the three Massachusetts 

spots is being supplied by Capitol Theatre 

Supply Co., RCA distributor in Boston, and 

the New York installations are being made by 

Eastern Theatre Supply Co. of Buffalo. 

Flushing Woman Is Winner 

In RKO Theatres' Contest 

NEW YORK—Mrs. Mary Quinn, who won 

the first prize of $500 in RKO Theatres' 

recent "The Deep Blue Sea" contest, which 

gave advice to Vivien Leigh, the star who 

played a wife with a personal problem, was 

presented a check by William W. Howard, 

vice-president, March 22. 

In addition to Mrs. Quinn, who lives in 

Flushing, the other prize winners included: 

Mary Kearon of Manhattan, $200; George 

Kravet of Brooklyn, $100, and eight runnersup, 

who were awarded prizes of $25 each. 

B^XOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 

50% Republic Gross Rise 

In Foreign Market Seen 

NEW YORK—Republic Pictures International 

expects a 50 per cent increase in 

business in 1956 over 1955, Reginald Armour, 

executive vice-president, reported this week. 

Foreign business accounts for 40 per cent of 

the company's total gross. 

Armour attributes the expected rise to the 

fact that Republic will have better pictures 

in 1956, including several in the company's 

new Naturama process. This anamorphic 

process is compatible to Cinemascope and 

has a decided sharpness on the sides of the 

screen. "Lisbon," which was made in that 

city, and "The Maverick Queen" will be the 

first two Republic pictures in Naturama. 

Armour said that news of the slight depression 

in motion picture attendance in 

America "is seeping into the foreign territories," 

but he says England is the only country 

which has to fear competition from TV, as 

America did. Business in Britain is off 

"about 14 per cent since the start of commercial 

TV this fall," Armour said. In France, 

Republic still has some permit difficulties, as 

it dies in Spain. In Germany, local pictures 

are booming and are getting "breaks" and 

preferred playing time in Belgium, Holland 

and other nearby countries. 

While visiting Germany, Armour closed a 

deal for Republic to distribute the new version 

of "Congress Dances," a remake of the 

musical which brought fame to Lillian Harvey 

in 1932. This is in Trucolor and will be 

Republic's first picture in Cinemascope. He 

said that "Lisbon," which he saw while on 

the coast, will be entered in the Venice Film 

Festival. He also reported that "Come Next 

Spring," current release, is a "natural" for 

foreign countries, comparable to "The Quiet 

Man." "Magic Fire," which Republic produced 

in Germany with an international cast, 

will have a royal benefit performance in 

London April 19. 

Republic has no plans to release its pictures 

to TV in England, but in Italy Armour made 

a deal to show a certain number of pictures 

on TV, although the entire country has 

only 200,000 sets. 

Armour this week made several executive 

appointments in line with the company's reorganization 

plans being undertaken by 

Herbert J. Yates, president. 

H. Victor Green, until recently general 

manager for Republic in Australia. New Zealand 

and Southern Africa, is being transferred 

to Great Britain as director of spies in charge 

Requests Being Made 

For Corwin Article 

NEW YORK—The Motion Picture Ass'n of 

America is receiving daily requests for copies 

of "Your Movie House and the Man Who 

Runs It," a public relations article written by- 

Alfred F. Corwin of its Hollywood staff which 

appeared in full in the March 17 issue of 

BOXOFFICE. 

By midweek more than 600 requests for 

copies had been filled. Most of the requests 

came from circuits. One circuit asked for 

and got 100 copies. 

of Republic's operations in the United Kingdom 

and Eire. In Australia, Green has been 

replaced by William C. Heidenrich, formerly 

with MGM. 

Ricardo Canals has been named supervisor 

for the Caribbean area, covering Colombia. 

Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Curacao, Costa Rica, 

Nicaragua. Honduras, San Salvador, Guatemala, 

Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela. Canals, 

who was formerly with RKO in the Far East, 

is on his way to Caracas to set up his headquarters 

there. 

Pedro Teitelbaum, formerly general manager 

for Republic in Brazil, has been named 

supervisor on the Latin American continent, 

covering Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile and 

Uruguay. He will make his headquarters in 

Rio de Janeiro. Louis L. Lioni was recently 

named special representative in Holland; Carl 

Ponedel has been transferred from Spain 

to the Philippines and Alejandro Villamayor 

has been named special representative in 

Spain. 

NTFC Meeting Discusses 

TV Color Film Topics 

NEW YORK—Color television held the 

spotlight at a meeting of the National Television 

Film Council Thursday 129) at the 

Delmonico Hotel. Four panel discussions 

followed the luncheon at which Dr. Alfred N. 

Goldsmith, board chairman, was keynote 

speaker. 

TV color film raw materials were discussed 

by E. M. Stifle of the motion picture film department 

of Eastman Kodak Co.. Fenner G. 

Headley of the photoproducts division of 

E.I. 

duPont de Nemours & Co. and Harold Jones 

of the Ansco division of General Aniline & 

Film Co. 

TV color film production was discussed by 

Robert Jenness of Sarra, Inc., Lawrence 

Parker of Kenyon & Eckhardt, Ralph Koch 

of K&W Film Service and T. J. Gaski of 

Consolidated Film Industries. 

TV color film transmission was the topic of 

Charles L. Townsend, National Broadcasting 

Co.; John Whittaker, Columbia Broadcasting 

System; Frank Marx, American Broadcasting 

Co.. and Thomas T. Goldsmith jr., Du Mont 

Television Network. 

Progress in VistaVision 

Use Noted by Paramount 

NEW YORK—Paramount studio officials 

have reported that a survey made by them 

has shown international acceptance of Vista- 

Vision. They have pointed to its selection 

for feature production In Hollywood, England, 

Italy. Spain and Puerto Rico, and in the 

non-commercial Industrial, educational and 

documentary fields as well. 

They also noted that two pictures filmed 

in the process received Oscars from the 

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

A company statement summarized past and 

present filming in VistaVision by producers 

of pictures to be released by Paramount. 

Warner Bros.. United Artists. Laurence 

Olivier, Universal-International and J. Arthur 

Rank. 

45

. . Thompson's 

. . Bob 

. . 

. . Dave 

. . 20th-Fox 

. . State 

PITTSBURGH 

•LTerman Lorence, Erie theatre owner, was in 

New York on business and is preparing 

to depart soon on a trip to California. 

Lorence reports that the Erie neighborhood 

theatres which have modernized are doing 

well . . . Jack Ellstrom, former booker, filled 

in on the 20th-Fox books as the local branch 

was left short-handed when two bookers, 

Helen Torbich Yovetich and Reah Aaronson, 

were taken ill and hospitalized . . . Herb, son 

of the Abe (Triangle Theatre) Josephs, who 

has been employed with the Internal Revenue 

Department at Newark, N. J., has been transferred 

to the Erie office. 

. . . 

. . Star 

E. LeViant, Filmrow printer who had been 

ill and hospitalized four months, is back on 

the job. He appears in excellent health and 

he reports that his doctors now tell him to 

keep himself busy Homer City borough 

collected $1,415.85 in amusement taxes during 

Marion Orris, 20th-Fox cashier's 

1955 . . . Connie Kane 

clerk, went off the payroll . . . 

is the new Paramount stenographer . 

Theatre, Glassport, reopens Easter Sunday 

after being closed throughout Holy Week . 

Prank "Bud" Thomas, theatre booker, marked 

a birthday on Good Friday. 

The Paramount exchange building has been 

spring housecleaned, exterior has been steamblasted 

and a new front door has been installed 

. . . Dora (Moskowitz) Sharapan, who 

was employed at the RKO exchange 13 years 

ago, has returned there in the contract department 

. restaurant. Seventh 

street, across from the Stanley Theatre, 

favorite haunt for show people, will close May 

1. Last week, Child's restaurant, where 

Variety was born, closed forever . . . Mike 

Lane, 275-pound wrestler, who plays the top 

role in "The Harder They Fall," was here 

to exploit the picture which will be opened 

soon at the J. P. Harris Theatre. 

. . . Adolph 

John Troy has installed magnetic sound at 

the Parker Theatre, Parker 

Farkas, Johnstown theatre owner, vacationed 

Tony Colose is booking the 

in Florida . . . 

State, Osceola Mills, for Charles Pagano, and 

is not himself the proprietor as indicated here 

recently. Colose, now operating two bowling 

alley establishments at Clearfield, expects 

to move into his new home there at an early 

date . . . John Bixler, Scottdale exhibitor, 

forwarded a postcard from Miami stating 

that he has enjoyed the sunshine, the magic 

cure for most ills, and that he will be back 

home and on the job the first of April. 

Fred Kunkel, assistant at the downtown 

Penn for several years, joined the Harris circuit 

as manager of the Perry Theatre here. 

The Harris office announced that Pat Hart, 

recently at the Denis, has returned downtown 

to the assistant post at the J. P. Harris, and 

that John P. Harris has been shifted from the 

Perry to the Denis . Bowman, SW 

district manager, and his wife were vacation- 

SAM FINEBERG 

TOM McCLEARY 

JIM ALEXANDER 

84 Van Braam Street 

PITTSBURGH 19, PA. 

Phone EXpress 1-0777 

Movie Art Better Th»n Ever • How"! Your Equipment? 

ing in Miami . Weir, Warner Bros, 

salesman, and family moved into their new 

home in Glenshaw . will occupy 

its new building, adjoining the present 

quarters, April 16. 

Ed "Goody" Good resumed duties as Pittsburgh 

Film Service shipper after being hospitalized 

. . . Nobert Stern, head of Associated 

circuit, is recuperating after undergoing a 

second operation . Supreme Court 

Justice Michael A. Musmanno, who presided 

over German war crime trials and who is well 

known in the local trade, reports that his film, 

"Ten Days to Die," from his book dealing 

with Hitler's downfall, will be released soon 

by Columbia. 

Among area drive-ins which have reopened 

are the ABC, Brookside, Camp Heme, 

Colonial, Harmar, Hilltop, Maple, Pittsburgh, 

Rainbow Gardens, Ranalli's, South Park, 

Super 30. Twin Hi-Way, Wexford Starlite and 

the second screen at Super 71 ... A son was 

born to the William Scotts at Montefiore 

Hospital March 24. Scott, RKO city salesman, 

brought boxes of cigars with him when 

he reported for work Monday morning. Bill 

said the baby will be named Alan Charles 

Scott. 

Gene Kelly visited at his Wilkinsburg home 

for several days, after arriving from Europe. 

He then departed for California to spend 

Easter with his 13-year-old daughter Kerry. 

He will fly to Paris within a few days where 

he will produce his independent picture for 

MGM release . . . H. M. Addison, who managed 

Loew's Penn here a score of years ago 

and now a special representative for United 

Artists, directed exploitation in the city with 

Barry Jones, who made appearances in behalf 

of the upcoming "Alexander the Great." 

Buy Pittsburgh Airer 

PITTSBURGH—The Echo Drive-in here 

has been purchased by Morris Finkel, indoor 

exhibitor, and Associated Theatres. Recently 

it was known that Finkel had closed negotiations 

for the largest ozoner in the Pittsburgh 

area from builder Al Kurtak, and now 

officially the Echo Drive-In on Route 51 at 

Large is in the joint hands of Associated 

Theatres and Finkel. Operation will be under 

the Associated banner. The Echo, built and 

opened last year, is about one-half mile from 

Associated's Colonial Drive-In on Route 51. 

Plan Another Drive-In 

MORGANTOWN, W. VA.—John and Mary 

DeAngeles, owners of the Grafton Drive-In 

Theatre, are planning to open an outdoor 

theatre in this area. Recently they purchased 

all equipment and fixtures installed at the 

Oaks Drive-In at Cheat Lake from George 

Sallows and Jack Maple. The Oaks has been 

dismantled and the property will be used to 

extend the Country Club golf course there. 

IA Tristate Ass'n to Meet in June 

REYNOLDSVILLE, PA.—The 32nd annual 

convention of the IATSE Tristate Ass'n will 

be held here in Eagle's Hall June 3. Host will 

be the union local of DuBois, Pa. Jim Sipe. 

business representative for Pittsburgh's Local 

171, is secretary-treasurer of the Tristate 

Ass'n. 

Abe Schnitzer, 64, Dies; 

Formerly of Pittsburgh 

PITTSBURGH—A. H. "Abe" Schnitzer, 64, 

died Monday (26) in Los Angeles after a 

short illness. Well known in local film industry 

circles, he left here 15 years ago for 

the west coast film colony. He was associated 

there with his late brother Joseph I. Schnitzer, 

former RKO Pictures president, in operation 

of Western Costume Co. 

Abe entered the film business with Universal 

in Cincinnati in 1916. During World 

War I he served in the photographic section 

of the Army Signal Corps. He returned 

here and rejoined Universal, and in 1922 he 

became associated with Robertson-Cole here. 

For the next nine years he was with Film 

Booking Office and RKO as manager. Next 

he was short subject sales manager for 

Pathe, and in 1932 he opened the First Division 

exchange here in association with 

Harry Thomas. 

Navy to Aid Promotion 

Of 'Away All Boats' 

NEW YORK—U. S. Navy cooperation in the 

promotion of "Away All Boats" was obtained 

in Washington during the week by Charles 

Simonelli, Universal-International eastern 

advertising-publicity department manager, 

and Philip Gerard, eastern publicty manager. 

Special events being planned include a series 

of special screenings for exhibitors at naval 

installations like those held under Army 

auspices for "To Hell and Back." The Navy 

film will be released during the summer. 

Wadkins Has Food Diner 

RICHMOND. VA. — Doc's White Derby 

Diner, ten miles south of here on U. S. 1 

and 301, is an up-and-coming food establishment. 

Showmanship is being employed in 

catering to the public by owner V. L. "Doc" 

Wadkins, retired member of the theatre industry 

and film trade. For a number of 

years prior to coming here recently, Wadkins 

was employed by the Mike Manos circuit 

in western Pennsylvania, serving as theatre 

manager, district manager, director of 

concession operations and circuit booker. 

Adds Another Drive-In 

SHORT CREEK, W. VA.—John Gardner of 

the Grove Drive-In, Elm Grove, W. Va., and 

the Riverside Drive-In, Rayland, Ohio, has 

purchased the Starlite Drive-In here from 

Dr. George Kellas. Local ozoner, when 

modernized and reopened, will be named the 

Airport. 

Report New Ozoner 

REEDSVILLE, W. VA.—Report here is that 

the operators of the PineView Drive-In here 

will open another outdoor theatre in the 

Kingwood area. 

May Reopen at Shinnston, W. Va. 

SHINNSTON, W. VA.—George Rice, 

druggist 

and indoor exhibitor here, is expected to 

reopen his Rice's Drive-In near here which 

remained closed all of last season. 

"One Way Out" a melodrama by George 

Seaton and Robert Pirosh, has been bought 

for Universal release. 


. . Mrs. 

. . Adolph 

. . The 

. . Due 

NEWARK 

n Martha Logan cooking show, sponsored 

by King's supermarket and presented by 

Swift & Co., was held at the Beacon in East 

Orange. Over 20.000 circulars were put out 

by King's and Manager Thomas O'Connor 

of the Beacon . recent snowstorm in 

this area was no detriment to most of the 

theatres here. A survey indicated that business 

was better than usual. Some of the 

theatres that didn't miss a show were the 

Elwood, Newark; Fabian. Hoboken; Embassy. 

Orange; Hollywood, East Orange, and the 

Union, Union. The presentation of Marcel 

Marceau. which was to have been given at 

the Maplewood in Maple wood, was cancelled. 

however, due to the weather. Receipts from 

this show were to have been contributed to 

the student aid fund of Columbia High 

School. Maplewood. When refunds were 

made, ticket holders were asked to contribute 

the money to this program. 

At the Center, Bloomfield, Frederick Dressel, 

manager, reported that the fairly new 

art film policy is being well received by the 

patrons of this theatre. Occasionally, a fill- 

. . . 

. 

in American film will be shown, but the 

forthcoming plans include such first area 

showings as "Umberto D." and "The Prisoner" 

Mrs. Hildebrand, assistant manager 

of the Ritz, Elizabeth, is out on sick 

leave. . . First New Jersey showings at the 

. 

Ormont, East Orange, are "Lease of Life," 

now closing, and "Diabolique," the new presentation 

Retting, manager here, 

was on a brief vacation . to inclement 

weather and viruses, Thomas J. O'Connor, 

manager of the Beacon, East Orange, has 

been pinch-hitting for candy girl, doorman, 

usher and any other personnel absent. 

A large book with the title "I'll Cry Tomorrow," 

last week's feature film at Loew's 

State, was carried through downtown streets 

by the ushers as part of the promotion . . . 

On April 2 a rock and roll revue will be 

shown at the Branford, along with a screenshow 

. Cora Lieb, assistant manager 

at the Cranford in Cranford, was back at 

work after a month's illness . . Pepsi-Cola 

. 

was sponsor of a huge lobby display at the 

Wellmont, Montclair, showing an Easter 

bunny on a large bottle cork, extending 

Easter greetings to all. 

The owners of the Duchess, Louis Solkoff 

and Charles Blum, have sold four upstate 

New York and two Connecticut theatres 

to Richard Turteltaub. present owner of the 

Capitol in Union City and the Garden in 

Paterson. Solkoff and Blum still own the 

local Lyric, where George Morgan, doorman, 

was employed before his recent death . . . 

A self-proclaimed "oldtime theatre man," 

Louis Liss, is the new manager of the Alwood 

in Alwood . . . Charles Golding, former 

manager, went to the home office of the 

Fabian Theatre in New York. 

The new district manager for the Smith 

Management Co. is Harvey Elliott. He was 

formerly employed by the Redstone Theatres 

The Route 3 Drive-In, Rutherford 

. . . (a Smith Management theatre), was 

closed for four days during the recent storm. 

Right next to the Route 3 Drive-In is 

Kiddyland—also Smith owned, free to kiddies 

whose parents are going to the drive-in. 

Other children pay only the price of the rides 

—there is no admission charge. 


VELDE HONORED IN BALTIMORE—James R. Velde, center, newly appointed 

general sales manager of United Artists, is honored at a testimonial dinner at the 

Sheraton Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore tendered by area showmen. Left to right: 

Milton Cohen, eastern and southern sales manager; Walter Gettinger, Howard and 

Westbrook theatres; Velde; Jack Fruchtman, Century Theatre, and Sidney Cooper, UA 

Washington branch manager. 

Vitascan Color TV System 

Topic of SMPTE Meeting 

NEW YORK—Jesse H. Haines and G. Richard 

Tingley of the research division of Allen 

B. DuMont Laboratories will discuss the 

Vitascan color television system Wednesday 

(4) at the April meeting of the Atlantic 

coast section of the Society of Motion Picture 

and Television Engineers at the Carl 

Fischer Concert Hall. 

The system is a modern all-electronic version 

of the early forms of mechanical live 

TV pickup which employed the flying-spot 

scanning principle. 

Originally, the April meeting was to deal 

with the relationship of advertising agencies 

to the motion picture and TV industries, but 

the subject has been postponed for more "extensive 

preparation," according to George H. 

Gordon of the Eastman Kodak Co., chairman. 

Prerelease Engagements 

Of 'Conqueror' Started 

NEW YORK—Howard Hughes' "The Conqueror" 

started 164 prerelease engagements in 

key cities Saturday i3D to take advantage 

of the Easter school recess, according to 

Walter Branson, RKO vice-president in 

charge of worldwide distribution. He said the 

runs will continue for at least the length of 

the vacation period. 

The picture opened here Friday ( 30 ) at the 

Criterion Theatre and ran through the night 

until dawn Saturday. Other Easter engagements 

are at the Keith Theatre, Boston; 

Warner, Milwaukee; Center. Oklahoma City, 

and St. John's, Jacksonville. 

Flashbulbs Up From Zero 

To 500,000.000 in 1955 

NEW YORK—Twenty years ago pictures 

were taken almost exclusively in sunlight. 

During 1955 500.000,000 flashbulbs were used. 

Dr. Cyril J. Staud, Eastman Kodak vicepresident 

in charge of research, discussed 

these statistics and their implication at a recent 

meeting of the Rochester Engineering 

Society. 

Beside the increased use of flashbulbs, he 

noted that the sensitivity of roll film has been 

increased about seven times during the past 

30 years, so that pictures can now be taken 

in basic cameras on overcast days or late in 

the afternoon. 

BALTIMORE 

"The Maryland tax campaign committee held 

its first meeting here in offices of Jack 

Fruchtman at the Century Theatre. In addition 

to Fruchtman, present were Milton 

Schwaber, John Richir, Rodney Collier, C. 

Elmer Nolte jr. and Isador M. Rappaport, 

committee members, plus Howard Wagonheim, 

Harold Colley and Miss Ora Donoghue. 

Committee members absent were Newel Howard 

of Salisbury, Ray Light of Cumberland; 

Charles Gus Lynch of Washington, John H. 

Hiser of Silver Spring and Leon Back and 

J. Stanley Baker of Baltimore. The last two 

mentioned were in California and Florida, 

respectively. 

. . . Fred 

Murphy McHenry of United Artists was in 

town working with Hal Colley of the Century 

and New theatres on "Alexander the Great." 

due at the New . . . Walter Gettinger has 

added to the list of theatres for which he 

does the booking, the Perry at Perryville and 

the Northeast at Northeast, Md. 

Perry, owner of the Edgemore, is putting on 

an amateur contest show during the weekends. 

Results have been excellent at the boxoffice 

Jack Flax, manager for Republic 

. . . in Washington, was a patient in the Marburg 

ward at Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

Disney's 'Song of South' 

In 72 New York Houses 

NEW YORK—Walt Disney's "Song of the 

South." being re-released by Buena Vista, 

will open day-and-date in 72 theatres in the 

New York metropolitan area April 4, according 

to Leo F. Samuels, president and general 

sales manager of Buena Vista. During the 

week of April 11, the picture will open in 

more than 100 additional independent and 

circuit houses in greater New York, northern 

New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island. 

Winning Short Is Booked 

NEW YORK—"Survival City." 20th Century-Fox 

one-reel short in Cinemascope, 

which won an Academy Award March 21, 

opened in 128 theatres in the greater New 

York area, starting March 27. according to 

Lem Jones, short subjects sales manager. The 

Edmund Reek production for Movietonews, 

is being presented m RKO. Skouras. Randforce 

and other leading circuit houses, 

47

i 

*&o*tcto*t 

THERE 

^,efiont 

is a big split in the ranks of the 

British Film Producers Ass'n over the 

future of the British Film Production 

Fund lEady). This split reached serious proportions, 

when voting took place at a private 

meeting of the association to determine 

whether the BFPA should recommend to the 

Board of Trade cuts in the amount of Eady 

money accruing to Anglo-U. S. productions. 

This recommendation was aimed at such 

companies as 20th Century-Fox, Warwick 

Films, Anglo-Amalgamated, MGM, and others 

who have brought over Hollywood stars, directors 

and scripts to Britain because of the 

cheaper facilities and the Eady money. 

The debate that followed revealed that 

there were some very big British production 

companies in favor of utilizing the Eady 

fund for British-only productions as against 

films partly financed by overseas companies. 

Surprisingly, however, the smaller producers 

won the issue by restraining their bigger 

brothers from curtailing the amount of earnings 

going to these co-productions by a very 

sizeable vote. But this is unlikely to be the 

last of the story. 

* * * 

Following a directive from the Board of 

Trade, the National Film Finance Corp. is 

busily involved in getting the views of the 

trade on quota, the future of the Eady levy 

and the loan-making powers of the NFFC 

itself. 

It looks as if the managing director, David 

Kingsley, will have his work cut out in trying 

to reconcile the various attitudes of the trade 

associations to, at least, two out of the three 

headings: The Levy and the future of the 

NFFC. Some exhibitors feel that the NFFC 

should be abolished and that the money 

loaned to it by the government should go 

back to the exhibition industry in the form of 

tax relief. Some producers are not even 

happy with the NFFC, because of the nigh 

rate of interest now demanded from the 

corporation. The trade unions do not see 

eye to eye on these two questions. Sir Tom 

By ANTHONY GRUNER 

O'Brien's National Ass'n of Theatrical and 

Kine Employes is inclined to favor the exhibitors' 

point of view, while George Elvin's 

Ass'n of Cine Technicians finds itself more 

in agreement with the producers. 

Meanwhile there are rumors that the government 

may decide to step out of the industry 

by offering the corporation and its 

assets to a major production or distribution 

company. The Conservatives are now 

urgently concerned with the amount of millions 

that they can secure for the budget 

through entertainment tax and the currency 

that they can receive through the sale of 

British films abroad. Most of all, however, 

Chancellor MacMillan is looking around for 

as much "quick soft money" as he can find. 

So the sale of NFFC is not quite such a farfetched 

project as it might seem. 

* * * 

The Socialist Parliamentary Party has become 

aroused by the trade's case for entertainment 

tax relief. They have invited Sydney 

Bernstein, chairman of Granada and member 

of the Labour Party for many years, to speak 

to them on the subject of tax. If Bernstein is 

able to convince his socialist colleagues, then 

the Parliamentary Party will send a delegation 

to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to 

ask for a tax reduction. Meanwhile Bernstein, 

his brother Cecil, managing director, Joe 

Warton, secretary of the company, and John 

Roberts, top catering and administrative executive, 

are all busy in Manchester preparing 

for the opening of Granada's Northern television 

network. Because of the importance 

of this undertaking, London headquarters, 

responsible for the running of 60 theatres in 

England and Wales, is being administered 

temporarily by a skeleton executive 

staff under the chairmanship of Max Bernstein, 

Victor Chapman, film booker, and 

Ernest Dimmock, advertising and publicity 

chief. 

* * * 

The Observer, probably the most interesting 

and certainly the most influential Sunday 

WORLD PREMIERE OF 'ALEXANDER'—Robert Rossen, producer-director of 

"Alexander the Great," second from left, with Claire Bloom, far left, one of the stars, 

are presented to Princess Alexandra at the global opening of the United Artists release 

in London at the Odeon Leicester Square Theatre. Montague C. Morton, UA 

managing director in Great Britain, is at the far right. 

newspaper in Britain, has decided to sponsor 

a film industry exhibition later this year. 

The exhibition is aimed at publicizing films 

in general, both Hollywood and British. The 

project has been conceived on a grand scale 

with plans for a cinema, film studio, a British 

film industry display and an elaborate show 

piece, "Beauties of the Screen." 

In charge of the project is Richard Buckle, 

who was also responsible for the magnificent 

Diaghilev exhibition last year. If the 

"Observer's Jubilee Film Exhibition" is anything 

as good, the public can look forward to 

something full of excitement and showmanship. 

This is the first time that any national 

paper has decided to promote the film industry 

out of its own pocket and is a gesture 

that should receive the fullest support of the 

entire trade. 

Britain spent nearly £9,000,000 for films 

imported from the United States and about 

£500,000 pounds for films from Europe. Henry 

Brooke, financial secretary to the Treasury, 

gave these figures in the House of Commons 

in answer to a question from a conservative 

M. P. 

Pressed if he was satisfied with the workings 

of the Anglo-American agreement, 

Brooke passed this question over to the Board 

of Trade president who, unfortunately, was 

not in the Commons that afternoon. But the 

object of Brooke's questioner was to try to 

get the government to admit that this 

country was over-spending on U. S. films. 

It is suggested by some M. Ps. that the 

balance of payment could be improved by cuts 

in Hollywood imports. Fortunately for the 

business, the government knows better than 

to restrict the import of American films into 

this country. It has not forgotten Hugh 

Dalton's Ad Valorum tax in 1947, which 

resulted in a crisis in the exhibition industry. 

News in brief: The four trade associations 

have set up a special committee under John 

Davis to consider the possibility of curtailing 

the number of American feature films for 

television . . . Dorothy Dandridge is coming 

to London for cabaret season at the Savoy, 

The Marble Arch 

commencing April 16 . . . 

Pavillion will be closing down this week after 

42 years as one of London's best known theatres. 

It will be replaced by a modern store 

. . . Basil Litchfield has been made managing 

director of 20th Century-Fox productions, a 

position formerly held by Freddy Fox . . . 

J. H. Lawrie, producer of "Pacific Destiny," 

based on Sir Arthur Grimbles' "A Pattern of 

Islands" has signed Wolf Rilla, director of 

the film, for three more productions . . . 

After completing his last Cinemascope film, 

. . . 

"It's a Great Life" at Shepperton studio, 

producer George Minter learned that the title 

was the copyright of a U. S. television series. 

He has now changed the title to "It's A 

Wonderful World," a comedy about London's 

UNI France Films, the 

Tin Pan Alley . . . 

national association for the promotion of 

French films, has set up an office in London 

at 52 Shaftesbury Ave., W. 1., and will be 

represented by Jean Neri Anna Neagle 

has been chosen to present prizes to the 

winners of Associated Rediffusion competition 

for amateur film makers . . . Romulos Films 

announced that the title of its new production, 

"Not for Money" with Bob Hope and 

Katharine Hepburn, which will be distributed 

by MGM in the U. S., has been changed to 

"The Iron Petticoat." 


NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE PRODUCTION CENTER 

(Hollywood Office— Suite 219 at 6404 Hollywood Blvd.: Ivcn Spear, Western Managers 

Another Union Slap 

At 'Daniel Boone' 

HOLLYWOOD— Still another union slap at 

"Daniel Boone." independent feature produced 

by Al Gannaway and Charles Ver 

Halen and scheduled for Republic distribution, 

was aimed when the Hollywood AFL 

Film Council, which recently declared a nationwide 

boycott against it, addressed a communique 

to state, national and international 

branches of the AFL-CIO urging members 

thereof not to patronize the picture on the 

grounds it was made in Mexico "by an American 

employer who ran away to a foreign 

country whereby he escaped paying American 

union wage rates to American workmen." 

Some weeks ago the IATSE announced it 

was withholding its union emblem from 

Gannaway has 

"Boone" for the same reason. 

reiterated on several occasions that the picture 

had originally been slated for lensing 

on location in Kentucky, but that inclement 

weather there forced the transfer to Mexico 

because of commitments with cast members 

and technicians that could not be postponed. 

The AFL Film Council reported that the 

Los Angeles Central Labor Council had 

unanimously adopted a resolution contending 

"Boone" should have been made in the U. S„ 

endorsed the Film Council's boycott thereof 

and requested "all central labor bodies . . . 

to immediately notify the movie theatre managers 

in their respective cities and towns of 

the consumer boycott against this picture 

and the reasons therefor." 

Mel Ferrer Proposes 

International Tours 

HOLLYWOOD—Substantial increases in 

the world gross of a given film can be expected 

through international personal appearance 

tours and other cooperative efforts 

by the stars, Mel Ferrer, co-starring with 

Audrey Hepburn, Anita Ekberg and Henry 

Fonda in the Ponti de Laurentiis production 

for Paramount, declared in a recent interview 

with 40 foreign correspondents. 

He and his actress-wife, Miss Hepburn, will 

travel through South America, Japan, Asia, 

Europe and the Scandinavian countries plugging 

"War and Peace," Ferrer said, timing 

their junkets to coincide with premieres of 

the picture in late summer or early fall. 

George R. Giroux Dies 

HOLLYWOOD—George Russell Olroux, 70, 

field representative for Technicolor since 

1937. died Wednesday (21). He was born in 

Chicago and is survived by a son, George R. 

Giroux jr. 

Carol Ohmart to Attend 

'Scarlet Hour' Premiere 

HOLLYWOOD—Carol Ohmart, femme star 

of producer-director Michael Curtiz's "The 

Scarlet Hour," will be the honored guest in 

Salt Lake City, her hometown, when the 

Paramount feature is world-premiered there 

April 12 at the Capitol Theatre. The premiere 

will be part of a tour to be made by the 

player during the month to meet the press 

and radio-TV commentators in key cities, her 

first stop to be in Denver. 

• * * 

U-I's Technicolor comedy, "The Toy Tiger," 

will be given a series of exhibitor "sneak previews" 

in theatres around the country during 

Easter week. Starring Jeff Chandler, Laraine 

Day and moppet Tim Hovey, "Tiger" is a 

Howard Christie production and was directed 

by Jerry Hopper. 

* « * 

"Safari," Warwick Productions' African 

adventure film for Columbia, starring Victor 

Mature and Janet Leigh, will be world-premiered 

April 4 at the Empire Theatre in 

London. In Cinemascope and Technicolor, it 

was directed by Terence Young for producers 

Irving Allen and A. R. Broccoli. 

Hal Roach Starts Work 

On $125,000 Guard Bldg. 

HOLLYWOOD—Scheduled for completion 

about mid-May, the Hal Roach studios in 

Culver City embarked on construction of a 

$125,000 building to house the studio guard 

staff, time department and tabulating and 

accounting departments. Sidney S. Van 

Keuren, vice-president and general manager, 

also disclosed the Roach organization is contracting 

for an additional $125,000 worth of 

electronic equipment for tabulating and accounting 

purposes, including a Univac electronic 

computer. 

• * * 

Charles Marquis Warren, producer-director-writer 

of the CBS Gunsmoke series, has 

closed a deal with the network for another 

new property, Cavalry Patrol, on which he 

also will function in those three capacities. 

Warren will roll the first Patrol, starring 

Dewey Martin in a series based on factual 

stories of the U. S. cavalry during the late 

1860s, on location in Utah next month. He 

is currently piloting RKO Radio's theatrical 

feature, "Tension at Table Rock." 

Screen Gems, Columbia's video subsidiary, 

booked Charles Coburn to star in "Mr. Kagle 

and the Baby Sitter." an entry in the Ford 

Theatre telefilm series, which Joseph Hoffman 

produces. 

'Alexander' Premiere 

Swells Olympic Fund 

HOLLYWOOD—Star athletes and film 

luminaries constituted the first-night audience 

at the Wednesday (28) west coast premiere 

of pxoducer-director Robert Rossen's 

"Alexander the Great" at the Fox WUshire 

Theatre. The event was held as a benefit for 

the southern California Olympic games fund 

and marked the American debut of the 

Cinemascope costume spectacle, filmed in 

Europe by Rossen and currently in its worldpremiere 

engagement in London. 

Athletic notables on hand included: 

Dallas Bixler 

Emil Breitkreutz 

Lillian Copeland Buster Crabbe 

Dean Cromwell Johnny Weissmuller 

Neil Davidson 

Craig Dixon 

Vicki Graves 

James Donahue 

Herman Glass 

Screen celebrities were represented, among 

others, by: 

Ann Blyth 

Paul Douglas 

Jimmy Durante 

Tab Hunter 

Gordon MacRae 

James Mason 

Rod Steiger 

Jane Powell 

Irene Papas 

Ernest Borgnine 

Kirk Douglas 

Errol Flynn 

Van Heflin 

Fredric March 

Maureen O'Hara 

Rosalind Russell 

Jan Sterling 

Cornel Wilde 

Pine-Thomas Organizes 

Telefilm Department 

HOLLYWOOD—Branching out into television. 

Pine-Thomas Productions has organized 

a new video department, supervised by 

Paul Monash, and is preparing two telefilm 

series, Outpost and Torrid Zone. 

Novelist-scenarist Frank Gruber is penning 

the pilot for Outpost, a western anthology 

series, and will function as writer and story 

editor thereon. Torrid Zone will be written 

and story-edited by Monash and will have 

Central and South American locales. 

The P-T unit also is preparing four theatrical 

films for United Artists release, all 

to roll this year. They comprise "Bail Out at 

43.000." "Lincoln McKeever." "Fever Heat" 

and "The Big Caper." 

Ed Wynn and Son Keenan 

Will Star in 'Great Man' 

HOLLYWOOD—Marking their first screen 

appearance together, Ed Wynn and his actorson 

Keenan have been signed by U-I for 

leading parts in "The Great Man," starring 

and to be directed by Jose Ferrer. It is an 

Aaron Rosenberg production. 

BOXOFFICE : 

: March 

31, 1956 

49

Blurbers 

STUDIO PERSONNEUTIES 

Allied Artists 

HERB STERNE, resigning as a Columbia praiser 

after 1 3 years, was signed as AA's European press 

representative and will headquarter in Paris. 

Brieiies 

Universal-International 

With Will Cowan producing and directing, production 

got under way on a musical featurette 

starring Charlie Bar net's orchestra, the Sportsmen, 

the King Sisters and Romo Vincent. 

Clefiers 


Signed os music director on "Three for Jomie 

Down" was WALTER SCHARF. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 

Arranger-orchestrator CONRAD SALLINGER was 

signed to o new term contract boosting him to composer 

status. 

Loanouts 

Paramount 

Borrowed from 20th Century-Fox, MICHAEL RENNIE 

joins Cornel Wilde, Debra Paget and John Derek in 

the stellar lineup of the Y. Frank Freeman production, 

"The Loves of Omar Khayyam," which 

William Dieterle directs. 

United Artists 

ZIVA SHAPIR, 21-year-old actress from Israel, was 

borrowed from U-l by Bel Air Productions to star 

with Mark Dana in "Pharaoh's Curse," which Lee 

Sholem is megging. 

Universal- International 

JEFFREY HUNTER has been borrowed from 20th- 

Fox to star with Fred MacMurray in the Technicolor 

western, "Gun for a Coward," which Abner Biberman 

is megging for Producer William Alland. 

Warner Bros. 

STANLEY DONEN was borrowed from MGM to 

direct, and CAROL HANEY from the same studio to 

share the stellar honors in, the upcoming musical, 

"The Pajama Game," which George Abbott, Frederick 

Brisson, Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince will 

produce. 

Meggers 

RKO Radio 

STANLEY RUBIN drew the producer reins on "The 

Girl Most Likely," an upcoming comedy with music, 

which will star Jane Powell. 

Republic 

FRANKLIN ADREON will direct "The Man in 

Question," a story of international intrigue, which 

is a Rudy Ralston production. 

Options 


Handed a character lead in the Lindsley Parsons 

production, "The Intruder," was NELSON LEIGH. Starring 

Ida Lupino and Edmund Purdom, the feature is 

being directed by Irving Rapper. Costing was completed 

with the inking of WEAVER LEVY, VIRGINIA 

CARROLL and WILFRID KNAPP. 

KATHLEEN CASE was signed to star with Bill Elliott 

in "House on Lookout Mountain," a crime drama 

which Edward Bernds will direct from his own script. 

Ben Schwalb produces. 

Columbia 

Set to portray a trigger man in "Nightfall" was 

RUDY BOND. 

CHRIS ALCAIDE, ALAN NAPIER, HUGH SANDERS, 

HARRY LAUTER, ELEANOR TANIN and MICHAEL 

GRAINGER drew supporting roles in "Shakedown on 

Biscayne Drive." 

Independent 

SIR LAURENCE OLIVIER was inked to star with 

Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift in the Hecht- 

Lancaster production, "The Devil's Disciple," based 

on the play by George Bernard Shaw. 


Contractee JANET LAKE, a former New York model, 

was cast as a Civil War belle in "Raintree County, 

the Elizabeth Taylor-Montgomery CJjft starrer, which 

Edward Dmytryk directs for Producer David Lewis. 

Contractees LUANA LEE and RALPH VITTI were 

added to the cast of the 65mm production. 

British actress VIRGINIA MCKENNA will portray 

Jennifer Jones' sister in "The Barretts of Wimpole 

Street," on upcoming Sam Zimbalist production, to 

be directed in England by Sidney Franklin. 

NICOLA MICHAELS, 21-year-old college graduate, 

was signed to a long-term acting contract. 

London actor BEN WRIGHT drew a character lead 

in the Robert Taylor starrer, "The Power and the 

Prize," which will be megged by Henry Koster for 

Producer Nicholas Nayfack. 

Paramount 

Producer Hal Wallis ticketed WHIT BISSELL for 

a character lead in "Gunfight at the OK Corral," 

starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas under the 

piloting of John Sturges. 

Added to the featured roster of "The Loves of 

Omar Khayyam" was PAUL PICERNI. The Y. Frank 

Freeman production, being megged by William 

Dieterle, stars Cornel Wilde, Debra Paget, John Derek 

and Raymond Massey. PERRY LOPEZ, a former 

Warner contractee, joined the cast, as did YMA 

SUMAC and JOYCE VAN DER VEEN. 

ROBERT FLEMYNG, British actor, will be brought 

here for a lead with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire 

in "Funny Face," the musical comedy to be produced 

by Roger Edens and directed by Stanley Donen. 

ELAINE AIKEN, screen newcomer, was signed to 

a multiple-picture contract and set to appear opposite 

Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins in the Pat Duggan 

production, "The Lonely Man," which Henry Levin 

directs. ELISHA COOK JR. and LEO GORDON drew 

character roles. 

BRUCE BENNETT drew a stellar part with Anne 

Baxter and Charlton Heston in Producer Hugh 

Brown's "The Maverick." Directing the galloper is 

Rudy Mate. Booked was BARTON MACLANE. 

RKO Radio 

VIVIAN BLAINE has been signed to star with Red 

Skelton in producer-scripter Harry Tugend's comedy, 

"Public Pigeon No. One," which will be piloted by 

Norman Z. McLeod. 

ROBIN RAYMOND was cast as a striptease artiste 

in the Bert Fnedlob production, "Beyond a Reasonable 

Doubt," which stars Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine. 

20th Century-Fox 

Broadway-TV actress HOPE LANGE, currently in 

the Marilyn Monroe starrer, "Bus Stop," was signed 

to a long-term pact. 

Given contract extensions were actresses SUSAN 

HAYWARD, RITA MORENO and DANA WYNTER. 

United Artists 

Seltzer Films booked GLORIA MCGHEE, stage-TV 

actress, for one of the femme leads in the John 

Payne topliner, "The Boss," which Byron Haskin will 

direct. 

Universal -International 

JOHN AGAR was set to star in "The Mole People," 

a science-fiction entry which Virgil Vogel will direct 

for Producer William Alland. 

Recording star JULIE LONDON will have one of 

the featured femme roles in "The Great Man," a 

picturization of the novel by Al Morgan, which will 

star and be directed by Jose Ferrer. It is on Aaron 

Rosenberg production. 

JULIE ADAMS was given one of the leading 

feminine roles in "Star Light." 

Character actor EDWARD EARLE was cast as a 

lawyer in the Mickey Rooney starrer, "Francis in the 

Haunted House." The comedy, a Robert Arthur 

production, has Charles Lamont as megaphonist. 

Inked for "Istanbul," Technicolor-CinemaScope entry 

tophntng Errol Flynn and Cornell Borchers, were 

FRANK CORSARO, JERRY RICCIO, VERA BURNETT 

and SAYRE DEERING. Joseph Pevney directs for 

Producer Albert J. Cohen. 

Warner Bros. 

Stage actor CHARLES COOPER was signed by producer-director 

Alfred Hitchcock for a lead in the 

Henry Fonda-Vera Miles vehicle, "The Wrong Man." 

HAROLD STONE, Broadway actor, was cast in the 

picture. 

Singer BOB STRATTON drew a featured role in 

William Holden's Toluca production, "Toward the 

Unknown," starring Holden and being produced and 

directed by Mervyn LeRoy. 

DEAN STOCKWELL, onetime juvenile actor, returns 

to the screen after a four-year absence to undertake 

his first adult role in "Gun for a Coward," which 

stars Fred MacMurray and Jeffrey Hunter. William 

Alland produces and Abner Biberman directs the 

Technicolor western. 

Story Buys 


Edward Bernds sold his original screenplay, "House 

on Lookout Mountain," to the studio as a Ben Schwalb 

production. The whodunit will star Bill Elliott. 


Screen rights were acquired to "The Fool Killer," 

a novel by Helen Eustis and a teleplay thereof by 

Dale Wasserman. The vehicle will be produced by 

Jud Kinberg and Edgar Small. 


"The Company of Cowards," a Saturday Evening 

Post story by William Chamberlain, was purchased 

and added to the production slate of Charles Schnee. 

It is a World War II drama. 


Film rights were acquired to "Fraulein," a forthcoming 

novel by James McGovern. 


"One Way Out," a melodrama by George Seaton 

and Robert Pirosh about an ex-fighter who becomes 

involved with a gang of criminals, was purchased and 

assigned to Howard Christie to produce. Richard 

Landau has been inked to write the screenplay. 

Technically 


Named unit manager on "The Power and the 

Prize" was DAVE FRIEDMAN. 

Paramount 

RALPH JESTER was set as costume 

"The Loves of Omar Khayyam." 

designer on 

Staff assignments on "The Maverick" include ED 

RALPH, unit manager; RICHARD CAFFEY and 

CLAUDE BINYON JR., assistant directors; EARL 

HEDRICK, art director; ALMA MACRORIE, film editor, 

and LOYAL GRIGGS, cinematographer. 

WILLIAM MCGARRY will be the assistant director 

and HARRY CAPLAN the unit manager on "Funny 

Face." Set as unit art director was GEORGE DAVIS. 

RKO Radio 

Swinging over from the CBS network, HOWARD 

ALSTON has been appointed the studio's assistant 

production manager. 

Republic 

BUD THACKERY is photographing "The Warrens 

of Arizona," with LEONARD KUNODY as assistant 

director, WALTER KELLER as art director and TONY 

MARTINELLI as film editor. 


LYLE WHEELER, supervising art director, was inked 

to a new six-year contract. 

Warner Bros. 

RUSTY MEEK was set as an assistant director on 

"The Old Man and the Sea." 

Title 

Changes 


"The Four Seasons" to THE NAKED HILLS. 

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" to NOTRE DAME 

OF PARIS. 

"The Mountains Have No Shadows" (Pine-Thomas) 

to FEVER HEAT. 


"Star Light, Star Bright" to STAR LIGHT. 

Tiny Sound Transmitter 

In Initial Use for 'Sea' 

HOLLYWOOD—A sound transmitter the 

size of a package of cigarets with a microphone 

as small as a dime has been developed 

by the Warner studio sound department, 

headed by William Mueller. 

It will be utilized 

first on the Leland Hayward production, "The 

Old Man and the Sea." Sound from the 

transmitter can be received by a recorder 

without use of a microphone boom or visible 

cables. 

Bernard Feins Becomes 

Paramount Story Head 

HOLLYWOOD—Bernard Feins is 

dissolving 

his literary agency to become head of the 

Paramount story and writing department. 

Scheduled to report May 1, Feins succeeds 

John Mock, who has been ill for several 

weeks. Upon his recovery. Mock will be given 

more extensive functions in connection with 

general production activities. 


— 

AFM Local 47 Votes 

Maury Paul Ouster 

HOLLYWOOD — Insurgent members of 

Local 47, American Federation of Musicians, 

fired a second barrage in their anti-Petrillo 

rebellion by voting recording secretary Maury 

Paul, aligned with AFM administration factions, 

out of office. The balloting to oust Paul 

favored deposing him by a count of 1.642 to 

742. Appointed to succeed him was Uan Rasey, 

backed by Cecil F. Read, acting president 

since the recent ousting of John TeGroen. 

Paul immediately appealed to the AFM 

executive board and James Caesar Petrillo, 

AFM president, officially ordered his removal 

from office stayed. 

Earlier it appeared likely that a congressional 

probe into Local 47's affairs might be 

undertaken as Rep. Joseph Holt of California 

conferred in separate sessions with TeGroen 

and Read and subsequently opined there was 

sufficient basis to seek such an investigation. 

Petrillo and other AFM officials are 

accused by the Local 47 rebels, led by Read, 

of mismanaging the union's strike and pension 

funds. 

executive. < 1iavele'i

PORTLAND 

TXTillard Co&lan and Ken Hughes of the 

Orpheum conducted a publicity campaign 

for "Miracle in the Rain." due soon 

at the Orpheum. Coglan and Hughes enlisted 

the aid of the Journal to announce a contest 

which offered a trip to Hollywood for the 

secretary whose picture is selected. The 

drawing will be held at the Orpheum Monday 

(2) with an army recruiting sergeant picking 

the winning photo. Another contest also 

announced in the Journal was United Artists' 

"look-alike" contest run for "Comanche" at 

the Liberty. First prize was a $100 war bond, 

second prize a portable radio and theatre 

passes for runnersup. All contestants had to 

do was to send in a photograph of themselves. 

Those who looked the most like the Latin- 

American star Linda Cristal really went after 

the prize money. Earle Keate and Wil Hudson 

of the John Hamrick circuit conducted 

the contest . . . Allan Weider was in working 

on "The Swan," which has been booked into 

the Broadway. 

Martin Foster of the Guild dropped in his 

office from San Francisco where he is working 

on product for the Guild and for his Sacramento 

house. He expects to stage a gala 

opening program at the Manor, his suburban 

Sacramento house, next week . . . Marvin Fox, 

formerly of United Theatres here, reportedly 

has taken over a theatre in California. He 

left Portland several weeks ago on a Nevada 

and California trip. 

Zollie 

Volchok, Northwest Releasing Corp., 

said that "One Way Ticket to Hell," the 

UCLA documentary that won one of the 

Look awards for Bamblet Price, had its 

Oregon premiere at Corvallis, home of Oregon 

State College. The drama, based on a survey 

of narcotics peddling in southern California, 

stars the Journal drama and motion picture 

editor's niece Barbara Marks. 

Frankie Laine, who plays a guest role in 

"Meet Me in Las Vegas," which opened at 

the Liberty Friday (30), is appearing at the 

Portland Home Show for a ten-day stand. 

The show closed April 1. With him were the 

Clark Bros., seen on the Ed Sullivan Show, 

and Vicki Young, Capitol recording vocalist. 

Al Learman, Portland promoter, was managing 

director. 

Northwest Releasing will bring the Liberace 

show to the Auditorium here June 22. Frank 

Breall will handle it in Portland. Liberace 

also appears in Seattle and Vancouver . . . 

"One Way Ticket to Hell" has its Oregon 

premiere at Roseburg on April 19 . . . Hilda 

Peterson has been enjoying a three-week 

vacation at Squaw Valley near Reno skiing. 

Cary Grant to 'Houseboat' 

HOLLYWOOD — Cary Grant has been 

signed by Paramount to star in "Houseboat," 

a romantic comedy by B. Winkle, which will 

be scripted by Melville Shavelson and Jack 

Rose, directed by Shavelson and produced by 

Rose. Production is slated to start in the 

summer of 1957. 

Recently returned from a six years' stay in 

Europe, Paul Baron will write the musical 

score for Warners' "Toward the Unknown." 

Suit' Debui April 12 

To Salute Zanuck 

HOLLYWOOD—The scheduled April 12 

world premiere of 20th-Fox's "The Man in 

the Gray Flannel Suit," to be staged at Grauman's 

Chinese Theatre, has been designated 

as a salute to Darryl F. Zanuck's 30 years 

in the film industry. He personally produced 

the Gregory Peck-Jennifer Jones-Fredric 

March vehicle, which was directed by Nunnally 

Johnson. 

Stars with whom Zanuck has been associated 

during his three decades of activity 

are being invited to attend by Dick Powell, 

chairman of the Salute to Zanuck premiere 

committee. 

Plan Mammoth Promotion 

For 'Gray Flannel Suit' 

HOLLYWOOD—Virtually the same releasing 

pattern which prevailed in connection 

with "The Robe" will be employed on 20th 

Century-Fox's Gregory Peck starrer, "The 

Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," it was disclosed 

here after studio and homeoffice executives, 

the latter headed by President Spyros 

Skouras, viewed a rough-cut screening. 

Simultaneous premieres will be staged in New 

York and Los Angeles, and the film will be 

alloted the largest advertising-exploitation 

budget ever accorded a 20th-Fox feature. 

Personally produced by Darryl F. Zanuck 

and with Jennifer Jones and Fredric March 

as Peck's co-stars, "Suit" was scripted and 

directed by Nunnally Johnson from the novel 

by Sloan Wilson. 

Accompanying Skouras from Manhattan for 

the planning huddles were Murray Silverstone, 

president of Fox International; Joseph 

H. Moskowitz, vice-president and eastern 

studio representative; Al Lichtman, distribution 

chief; William Gehring, assistant general 

sales manager; C. Glenn Norris and 

Alex Harrison, respectively eastern and western 

sales heads; S. Charles Einfeld, vicepresident 

in charge of advertising and exploitation, 

and his assistants, Edward Sullivan, 

Ira Tulipan, Charles Levy and Les 

Whelan. 

Big Hong Kong Welcome 

Planned for Goldwyn 

HONG KONG—An elaborate reception is 

planned for Samuel Goldwyn when he arrives 

here April 8 for the opening of "Guys and 

Dolls" three days later at the Liberty and 

Hoover theatres. He will come from Tokyo 

where the picture will open April 5. 

On arrival, Goldwyn will be given newspapers 

which have been running his life story 

serially. 

The American consul general, exhibitors, 

newspaper publishers and radio folk will 

give him a cocktail party. The next day there 

will be a luncheon attended by civic leaders, 

and the governor general will be host at a 

dinner April 10. 

Seymour Mayer, regional director for the 

area of Loew's International Corp., will accompany 

Goldwyn. They will go on to Manila 

where "Guys and Dolls" will open April 

13 at the Ideal Theatre. 

Promotion here will be heavy. There will 

be window tieups with stores, posters presenting 

the stars and distribution in the thousands 

of booklets, matchbooks and postcards 

in both English and Chinese. 

Actors Guild Negotiates 

Screen, TV Contracts 

HOLLYWOOD—As a means of clarifying its 

jurisdictional sphere, the Screen Actors Guild 

has negotiated contracts with the Ass'n of 

Motion Picture Producers and the Alliance 

of Television Film Producers which will be 

signed by signatory employers producing 

theatrical or television motion pictures. A 

"television supplement" to the SAG basic 

agreement makes clear that the actors' organization 

represents thespians in all films, 

including those made with tape or other 

electronic devices. 

The supplementary paragraph defines motion 

pictures as always having "meant and 

included those whether made on or by film, 

tape or otherwise, and whether produced by 

means of motion picture cameras, electronic 

cameras or devices, or any combination of 

the foregoing, or any other means, methods 

or devices now used or which may hereafter 

be adopted." 

John L. Dales, SAG national executive secretary, 

opined that the amendment will prevent 

any misunderstanding as concerns Guild 

jurisdiction such as recently rose in connection 

with the American Federation of Television 

and Radio Artists' negotiation of a 

"clarification" of its TV contract. 

14 Are Nominated by SPG 

For Seven Board Places 

HOLLYWOOD—Fourteen candidates have 

been selected by a five-man Screen Producers 

Guild nominating committee for seven vacancies 

which will occur when the terms of 

that number of board members expire in 

May. Nominated were Hall Bartlett, Pandro 

S. Berman, Samuel G. Engel, Arthur Hornblow 

jr., Howard W. Koch, Fred Kohlmar, 

Mervyn LeRoy, Tom Lewis, Frank McCarthy, 

William Perlberg, Lewis Rachmil, Stanley 

Rubin, Jerry Wald and Lawrence Weingarten. 

Four of the incumbent executive board 

members whose terms expire—Engel, Hornblow, 

Perlberg and Weingarten—are thus up 

for re-election. The three retiring members 

are Charles Brackett, John Houseman and 

Aaron Rosenberg. The nominating committee 

comprised Henry Berman, Samuel Briskin, 

Robert Goldstein, William O'Sullivan and 

Brackett. 

Meantime Walter Mirisch, SPG membership 

chairman, reported the roster had hit a new 

high of 148 with the addition of Walt Disney, 

Elia Kazan, Herbert Bayard Swope jr. and 

Charles M. Tanner. 

Columbia-Warwick Pact 

Extended Three Years 

HOLLYWOOD—Columbia and Warwick 

Pictures have extended their contract, calling 

for Columbia to distribute the independent 

company's product, for another three years, 

it was jointly announced by Harry Cohn, 

president of Columbia, and Irving Allen, 

partner of A. R. Broccoli in the Warwick 

unit. 

First picture under the new contract will 

be "Fire Down Below." The schedule also 

includes "Interpol." "The Long Ships" and 

two untitled entries, one to be made in Australia, 

the other in Africa. 

Warwick has thus far released four pictures 

through Columbia. Due for April distribution 

is "Cockleshell Heroes," while completed 

and awaiting release are "Safari," 

"Odongo" and "Zarak." 


. . Also 

. . Roy 

. . Hizzoner 

— 

LOS ANGELES 

WOMPIs Model at Denver Event 

T\ue in at midweek from New York was Jim 

Velde, new United Artists sales chief, 

accompanied by AI Fitter, his successor as 

western division manager . Manuel 

Carnakas, mayor of Bakersfield and 

owner of the Vista and Virginia theatres 

there, dropped in to do some booking and 

buying . in town was George Weltner, 

Paramount home office sales executive, conferring 

at the local branch. 

. . . 

Fred Stein Enterprises has purchased the 

building and equipment of the Lyric Theatre, 

Monrovia, from Simon Lazarus. Stein and 

associates also operate the Ritz in Inglewood, 

the Major in Burbank and the Colorado. 

Pasadena Plans for the first picnic of 

the spring season were formulated by the 

Filmrow Club at its last meeting, at which 

it was also reported there were approximately 

40 donors in its last Red Cross blood bank 

drive. The club now has 15 extra pints of 

blood to its credit. 

. . 

Mr. and Mrs. Ben Levin of the General 

Theatrical Co. in San Francisco returned to 

the Bay City after a brief visit here . . . Lynn 

Shaddon has been appointed co-manager 

with Larry Carroll of the Lake Theatre, 

owned by Newt Jacobs . Wayne Bateman, 

U-I salesman, returned from a jaunt through 

Hugh Braly, dis- 

the Arizona territory . . . 

trict manager for Distributors Corp. of 

America, headed for San Francisco. 

On crutches after injuring her ankle is 

Rose Webb of the B. J. Leavitt organization 

. . . Carl Tyler, National Theatre Supply 

salesman, left for San Diego on business, 

while Lloyd Ownbey, NTS vice-president and 

western division supervisor, returned from a 

junket to Kansas City and other points . . . 

The Henry Sonnenshine distribution organization 

is readying "Jan Kelson's Gangster" 

for early release. 

A managerial shift at Fox West Coast 

found Bill Pernett, former pilot of the Village 

in Claremont, moving to Banning to 

manage the Fox Theatre there, replacing 

Bob Dye, who has been transferred to the 

Fox in Taft . Miller, who with his 

brother Fred built the Carthay Circle Theatre 

here and at one time operated the California 

and Mission theatres in the downtown 

area, is seriously ill at Hollywood Presbyterian 

Hospital. 

New Deer Park, Wash, Park 

Is Opened by Fred Soper 

DEER PARK, WASH.—Fred Soper of Deer 

Park has opened his new indoor theatre 

the Park. Work was recently completed on 

the new building which is located in the 

shopping center a block east of Main on 

Crawford. Soper plans to hold a grand opening 

within a few weeks. Matinees Saturday 

afternoon begin at 1:30 p. m. Sunday shows 

run continuously from 3 p. m. through the 

9 p. m. feature. Friday and Monday two 

shows will be given, at 7 and 9 p. m. 

The opening of the theatre marks the first 

time in three years there has been an indoor 

house in Deer Park. When all the "finishing 

touches" are applied, the Park will be one 

of the most modern theatres in the area. 

More than 225 attended the first annual 

style show and luncheon held jointly by 

women of Variety Tent 37 of Denver and the 

Women of the Motion Picture Industry at 

the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Through arrangements 

made with various Denver stores numerous 

fashions were modeled, with the models 

being some of the photogenic young women 

from Filmrow. Jean Gerbase, president of 

SEATTLE 

Tn promotion of "Comanche," the local UA 

office and the Coliseum management 

staged a contest to discover a girl with the 

nearest likeness to Linda Cristal, the Mexican 

beauty who makes her American film debut 

in the picture. Young women, 18 to 25, who 

felt they looked like Miss Cristal were invited 

to send their photographs to the Coliseum 

along with name, age, height and weight. 

Top prizes were a $100 U. S. savings bond 

and a portable radio. Others received theatre 

tickets. Judges were Jack Dudman, Coliseum 

manager: Earl Keate, UA publicist, and Arthur 

Berliner of Berliner's Beauty Supply Co. 

Six films that won Oscars were being 

screened in Seattle the week of the presentations— 

"Marty" at the Roosevelt, "Picnic" 

. . . 

at the Paramount, "I'll Cry Tomorrow" at 

the Blue Mouse, "The Rose Tattoo" at the 

Northgate, BelVue, Burien and Roxy, and 

"Love Me or Leave Me" and "Interrupted 

Melody," at the Uptown . Lou Pressler was 

in from Boise 

. . 

Kenneth Kinzer, who operates 

the Ritz at Ritzville, took over the 

Auto-View there from John Mattmiller. 

The Bethel Hall Theatre at Bethel, Alaska, 

operated by the Northern Commercial Co., is 

having Cinemascope equipment installed. 

Marin Film Council Busy 

SAN RAFAEL. CALIF.—In cooperation 

with local theatre managers, the Marin Motion 

Picture Council has been working on a 

summer vacation matinee program for children 

in an attempt to secure selected features 

of special interest to youngsters. G. E. 

Montezambert, manager of the Sequoia Theatre, 

invited the group to hold its next meeting 

at his theatre and scheduled a film preview 

to be shown after the meeting. 

WOMPI, presided and kept things running 

smoothly. Nancy Sogi, Universal stenographer, 

sang, and Edna Dodd and Angela 

Manthy presided at the organ. More than 

20 door prizes were given to winners. Left to 

right, above: Mary Arm Hogle, MGM; Betty 

Dagroo, NSS; Toni Medley, Black Hills 

Amusement Co.; Pat Hill and Sandra La 

Barbara, Buena Vista. 

Dale Hazen Will Pilot 

John Lee Theatres 

EPHRATA, WASH.-^John Lee, owner of 

Columbia Basin Theatres, has named Dale 

Hazen general manager of the entire circuit. 

Hazen succeeds Jim Bonholzer who recently 

accepted a new position with the William 

Foreman chain, one of the largest independent 

chains on the Pacific Coast. Hazen 

started with Lee six years ago at Soap Lake. 

For the last four years he has been local manager 

at Moses Lake. He will have his headquarters 

in the main office of the firm at 

Moses Lake. 

Other transfers and promotions accompanied 

the Hazen appointment, Lee said. A. L. Larpenteur, 

Ephrata and Soap Lake manager, 

has been placed in charge of the Star-Light 

Drive-In at Tacoma. Jack Dillon, who worked 

for the Columbia Basin Theatres and resigned 

to operate a business of his own at 

Coulee City, is now coming back to be manager 

for the Lake Theatre. Drive-In, Lee and 

Marjo theatres here in Ephrata. He and his 

wife, son and daughter are moving here to 

make their home. 

Winter weather has held up the opening 

of the drive-in theatres at Soap Lake and 

Moses Lake, Lee said. He hopes to make some 

improvements in the drive-in at Soap Lake 

and be ready to open soon. The Moses Lake 

drive-in opened for the summer run about the 

middle of March. 

Phil Belt to Mancos, Colo. 

MANCOS, COLO—Philip M. Belt, formerly 

of Cortez, Colo., recently purchased the 

Mancos Theatre here. 

400-Seater Being Built 

ETNA. CALIF.—Don Avery is 

a 400-seat theatre here. 

constructing 


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Return Run of 'Marly' 

Pays Off 160 in LA 

LOS ANGELES—Oscar-winning "Marty," 

brought back to two theatres for timely reruns, 

paid off with a handsome 160 per 

cent estimate during a week which saw two 

other long run entries, "Oklahoma!" and 

"Cinerama Holiday," finishing their respective 

19th stanzas with hefty 200 per cent ratings 

to share top grossing honors. Also very strong, 

with 175 for its second canto, was "The Court 

. 

Jester." 


Chinese Carousel (20th-Fox), 6th wk 

Downtown Paramount, Hawaii, Warners Wiltern 

150 

Mister Roberts (VVB); Rebel Without o Cause 

(WB) reissues 90 

Egyptian, United Artists Oklahoma! (Magna), 

19th wk 200 

Fine Arts The Trouble With Harry (Para), 

7th wk 85 

Four Star I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM), 14th wk.,.150 

Fox Beverly The Man With the Golden Arm (UA), 

13th wk 70 

90 

Fox Wilshire The Ladykillers (Cont.) 4th wk. . 

State Marty (UA); Summertime (UA) 

Iris, 

Reissues 1 60 

Los Angeles, Loyola, Fox On the Threshold of 

Space (20th-Fox), 2nd wk 75 

Pantages, Hillstreet, Fox Ritz Song of the South 

(BV), reissue 75 

Paramount Hollywood The Court Jester (Para) 

2nd wk 1 75 

Warners Beverly Picnic (Col), 5th wk 125 

Warners Downtown, Fox Hollywood The Creature 

Walks Among Us (U-l); The Price of Fear (U-l) 125 

Warners Hollywood—Cinerama Holiday (Cinerama) 

1 9th wk 200 

'Cry' Holds Up in Seattle 

With 225 in Third Week 

SEATTLE— "I'll Cry Tomorrow" wound up 

a very successful third week at the Blue Mouse 

with a strong 225. "Carousel," pulled in 150 in 

its second week at the Fifth Avenue, slightly 

above "Picnic" which completed its fourth 

week at the Paramount with 130. 

Blue Mouse I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM), 3rd wk. . .225 

Coliseum Monfish (UA); Comanche (UA) 140 

DRIVE-INS 

Send for our FREE CATALOG of 

103 MONEY-MAKING 

Special TRAILER IDEAS 

MOTION PICTURE SERVICE CO. 

1Z5 HYDE ST. SAN FRANCISCO (2) , CALIF. 

Fifth Avenue Carousel (20th-Fox), 2nd wk 150 

Music Box The Lone Ranger (WB) 60 

Music Hall Backlash (U-l); The Kettles in the 

Oxarks (U-l) 95 

Orpheum The Creature Walks Among Us (U-l) 90 

Paramount Picnic (Col), 4th wk 130 

'Picnic,' 

'Carousel' Are 

Frisco Toppers at 175 

SAN FRANCISCO—Two top films vied for 

honor spot with 175 per cent in the week's 

barometer report—the opening of "Picnic" at 

the St. Francis and the fourth week of "Carousel" 

at the Fox. 

Fox Carousel (20th-Fox), 4th wk 175 

Golden Gate Never Say Goodbye (U-l); Hold 

Bock Tomorrow (U-l) 100 

Paramount The Rose Tattoo (Para), 3rd wk 125 

St. Francis Picnic (Col) 175 

United Artists Invasion of the Body Snatchers 

(AA); The Atomic Man (AA) 90 

Warf ield—The Lost Hunt (MGM) 1 40 

Guinness Film Rates 150; 

Denver's Highest Score 

DENVER—Business was off the past week, 

probably because of Holy Week. Even so, 

three films were held over, with "Carousel" 

going into its third week at the Centre, "The 

Rose Tattoo" into its fourth week at the Denham 

and "The Ladykillers" holding at the 

reopened Vogue. 

Centre Carousel (20th-Fox), 2nd wk 110 

Denham The Rose Tattoo (Para), 3rd wk 115 

Denver Invasion of the Body Snatchers (AA); 

The Atomic Man (AA) 90 

Esquire Lease of Life (IFF) 90 

Paramount Comanche (UA); Storm Fear (UA)..135 

Vogue Lody Killers (Continental) 150 

'Marty' Shows Gross Hike 

After Oscar Awards 

PORTLAND— "Marty," playing at the 

Guild, took a decided spurt after the Oscars 

were announced, according to Guild Manager 

Nancy Welch. It finished the week at 150 

per cent, tieing with "The Court Jester" and 

"I'll Cry Tomorrow" for top honors. 

Broadway I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM) 150 

Fox— Carousel (20th-Fox) 1 25 

Guild Marty (UA); Summertime (UA) 150 

Liberty Comanche (UA) 110 

Orpheum Picnic (Col), 4th wk 145 

Paramount The Court Jester (Para), 2nd wk 150 

New Airer at Novate Calif. 

NOVATO, CALIF.—John L. Novak and 

Donald Donohue, the latter owner of the 

Novato Theatre, will start construction of a 

350-car drive-in on Atherton avenue as soon 

as the Marin County planning commission 

issues the necessary permits. 

HANDY SUBSCRIPTION

C 

Republic, conferred with George Mitchell, 

local manager . . . Corman Wallace, former 

booker-secretary at Warners, has been promoted 

to booker. 

. . 

The Rio in Richmond was closed on March 

19 by P. Aglietta . . . The Lux Theatre in 

North Sacramento has been taken over by 

Vic Carlson . Johnny and Sal Enea, Airport 

Automovies, Oakland, arranged a grand opening 

of their golf course at North Sacramento 

Tuesday (27). 

Hans J. Petersen Dead; 

Theatreman Since 1920 

LITTLETON, COLO.—Hans J. Petersen, 

owner of the Vogue Theatre here in partnership 

with his son James, died recently at 

the age of 77. He started in the theatre 

business at Jamestown, N. D., in 1920. He 

operated the State and Opera House there 

until 1935. The latter now is the Grand. He 

moved to Harlowton, Mont., and managed the 

State there from 1936 to 1945 for the Knutson 

circuit, after which he bought the Trail in 

Bridgeport. Neb. In 1946 he moved to Morrill, 

Neb., where he had bought the Delmar Theatre. 

The elder Petersen and his son bought the 

Vogue in Littleton in 1949, which son James 

continues to operate. 

Petersen was an ardent golfer all his life. 

He is survived by his wife, Anna, son James 

and a daughter Louise, now Mrs. Jack Davis 

of Hutchinson, Kas. 

Harry Moore Is Appointed 

To Top Everett Post 

EVERETT, WASH.—Harry Moore, manager 

of the Motor Movie, has been appointed city 

manager for both the drive-in and the Roxy 

Theatre here. The announcement came during 

a recent visit here by Norris Hunt, former 

Roxy manager and now assistant general 

manager of B. F. Shearer Theatres circuit 

which operates the theatres. Moore has 

been with the Roxy and the Motor Movie 

over a period of 18 years, starting as a page 

boy at the Roxy. He reported that the Motor 

Movie has opened for its summer run. 

Hunt also announced that Dick Ballard, 

who had been managing the circuit's Varsity 

Theatre in Seattle, has been transferred 

to Everett as manager of the Roxy, while 

Russ Riches will move from the Roxy here 

to the Varsity in Seattle. The Ballard family 

has already moved to Everett. 

All Producers' Rights Sold 

To WB on 'Mr. Roberts' 

NEW YORK—Warner Bros. Pictures, 

Inc., 

has purchased all producers' rights to "Mr. 

Roberts" from Orange Productions, Inc., made 

up of Leland Hayward and Joshua Logan. 

Hayward produced the stage play and Logan 

directed it. 

The picture was first released last July 

and is reported to have grossed over $5,- 

000.000 to date. 

The method of the transfer is unusual. 

Warners has transferred 37,000 shares of 

Treasury stock and will add 13.000 more 

shares to be purchased on the New York 

Stock Exchange. Warner stock was selling 

at 20 r N late in the week. 

Hayward is now producing "The Spirit of 

St. Louis," the story of Charles Lindbergh's 

famous flight, for Warner release in the fall. 

DENVER 

'The Vogue Art Cinema, closed for several 

weeks, has been reopened and will continue 

its successful art policy. The reopening 

film was "Ladykillers" on an indefinite 

run. The house is being operated by the 

Shulman Art Theatres. Edward Church, the 

manager, was with National Broadcasting Co. 

in New York for 18 years, and for the past 

four years was production supervisor in the 

radio and television school at the Ohio State 

University. 

. . Frank 

H. L. Boehm, who operates theatres at 

Woodward, Okla., has bought the Mission and 

the El Rancho Drive-In, Dalhart, Tex., from 

"Great Day in the Morning" is 

J. C. Parker . . . 

slated for a world premiere at the Orpheum 

May 16. Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth 

Roman and Alex Nicol will attend . 

H. Ricketson jr., president of Fox Intermountain, 

has been named to the 15-man 

committee that will plan the Denver centennial 

celebration in 1958. 

. . 

Remodeling of the room at 20th-Fox to 

make three private offices for the salesmen 

has been completed . Mr. and Mrs. Robert 

Smith of the Chief, Steamboat Springs, are 

expecting the birth of their first child . . 

. 

Sam Reed of Reed's Drive-In Speaker Service 

and wife returned from an extended 

business and vacation trip. They attended 

the wedding of their son Kenneth. In New 

Mexico they encountered a sandstorm that 

stripped their car of its chrome and paint. 

Bruce Archer, with National Theatre Supply, 

started out on his first sales trip, in the 

company of Joe Stone, manager, through 

southern Colorado . . . Black Hills Amusement 

Co. has moved its Denver offices to 822 

21st Street. . . . Frank Jenkins, MGM publicist, 

was in Rapid City, S. D., to promote 

"Guys and Dolls," which ran at the Rex. 

Jenkins made the flight in the first plane 

that made the trip following a lengthy strike 

on Western Air Lines. 

. . . 

Jack Piatt and George Stanley, both 

from the Camden, N. J., RCA plant, 

were in at the Western Service & Supply 

Theatre folk seen on Filmrow included 

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ormesher, Chadron, 

Neb.; F. M. Peterson, Hotchkiss; Virgil "Curly" 

Bohanan, Hatch, N. M.; Mrs. Fred Hall, 

Akron; J. K. Powell, Wray; C. E. McLaughlin, 

Las Animas; R. D. Ervin, Walden; Dr. 

Frank Rider, Wauneta, Neb.; Merle Gwinn, 

Benkelman, Neb., Robert Smith, Steamboat 

Springs, and Bruce Miller, Spearfish, S. D. 

Ben Wallerstein Dies; 

With Stanley Warner 

LOS ANGELES—Word was received 

Wednesday (28) 

here 

of the death of Ben Wallerstein, 

western zone manager for the Stanley 

Warner circuit, who succumbed of a cerebral 

hemorrhage while in European waters during 

a vacation cruise. Wallerstein, who was 56, 

was born in England and entered the motion 

picture exhibition field in South Africa. He 

joined the Warner chain in 1932 and had been 

prominent in Pacific coast theatrical circles 

for many years. 

Locally, SW spokesmen said they had had 

no word as to his successor. 

Jones Circuit Remodels, 

Opens Portland Bagdad 

PORTLAND—The 1,200-seat Bagdad Theatre, 

one of the finest neighborhood houses 

in the Rose City, reopened Wednesday (21) 

with Hawthorne Booster Club members and 

their guests attending en masse. Operation 

of the east side theatre has been taken over 

by Jones Enterprises, operators of theatre 

chains in California and Oregon, with Tom 

Blair in charge of the Oregon interests. 

Jack Allender will manage the Bagdad. 

The theatre, closed for 11 months, has 

been completely modernized. Besides a 

new entrance, the theatre has new lobby 

furnishings and new carpeting and draperies. 

Stereophonic sound has been installed as 

well as a new 40-foot screen equipped to 

handle modern processes including Cinema- 

Scope 55. Shows will start at 6:45 p. m. 

weekdays, with 1 o'clock matinees Saturdays 

and Sundays. 

Jones Enterprises operates 26 theatres in 

Oregon—Coos Bay, North Bend, Springfield, 

Engene, Lebanon, Hood River, Baker and La 

Grande. 

PHOENIX 

Oeveral motion picture location crews have 

been busy in Arizona this spring. At 

Phoenix, 20th-Fox workers completed filming 

of the rodeo and rodeo parade for "Bus 

Stop" and have returned to Hollywood. A 

Paramount group recently finished completing 

of location scenes in Tucson and the 

Superstition mountain area for "Gunfight 

at the OK Corral." A Columbia crew was 

also at Tucson shooting parts for "Reprisal." 

A 20th-Fox crew will arrive at Sedona April 

5 for work on "The Last Wagon," while the 

cast and a crew is expected soon in Phoenix 

for work on "The Maverick." 

The Anderson-Dunham Co. of California 

has sold the Sedona lodge to Tse Taa Chee 

(three red mountains) 

Co. and the new firm 

plans to build additional housing and a newlarger 

sound stage. The lodge originally was 

constructed by a film company and includes 

a permanent set. 

Dick Smith, Fox Theatre, is trying to get 

the world premiere of "Bus Stop" for his 

theatre for a July showing in conjunction 

with the 25 th anniversary of the house. 

C H I 

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CANCER 

PLAYS 

NO 

FAVORITES 

See your doctor at once if you 

have any one of the Seven 

Danger Signals... 

1. Any sore that does not heal. 

2. A lump or thickening, in the 

breast or elsewhere. 

3. Unusual bleeding or discharge. 

4. Any change in a wart or 

mole. 

5. Persistent indigestion or difficulty 

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6. Persistent hoarseness or 

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7. Any change in normal bowel 

habits. 

STRIKE BACK AT CANCER 

MAN'S CRUELEST ENEMY 

give to 

AMERICAN 

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This Space Contributed 

BOXOFFICE 

by 

Five-Day Week Hits Small 

Firms, Says Baumgarten 

HOLLYWOOD—Filmdom's newly adopted 

five-day work week Isn't materially affecting 

big-budget production, but it represents a 

"prohibitive" increase in cost—perhaps as 

much as 15 per cent—as concerns the manufacture 

of modest programmers, in the 

opinion of Edmund J. Baumgarten, president 

of Associated Film Releasing Corp. 

The producers of such moderately bankrolled 

celluloid are finding it "increasingly 

difficut" to break even, Baumgarten declared, 

even though this type of product is in demand 

among smaller exhibitors and drive-in 

operations. The shortened work week cuts 

deeply into the middle-bracket filmmakers' 

already narrow profit margin, the AFRC 

executive added, and as a means of compensating 

for the 15 per cent cost increase 

his company is instructing its franchise holders 

to seek upped film rentals. 

Screen Directors to Show 

Series of Early Films 

HOLLYWOOD—A series of screenings of 

outstanding film achievements since the early 

silent days, sponsored by the Screen Directors 

Guild, will be launched on a weekly basis 

beginning April 5 at the SDG theatre. To be 

unfurled are: 

The Birth of a Nation, Battle of Elderbush 

Gulch, The Big Parade, The Passion of Joan 

of Arc, The Fighting Lady, Citizen Kane, The 

White Main, Tragedy in a Temporary Town, 

Fearful Decision, Hamlet, The Last Laugh, 

Triumph of the Will, Nanook of the North, 

The Love Parade, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 

Let There Be Light, Carnival in Flanders, Le 

Million, The Informer, Moana, The Last Command 

and Plane Crazy. 

Nine Pictures on April 

Slate at MGM Studios 

HOLLYWOOD—MGM will hit a five-year 

productional high in April, with nine pictures 

before the cameras at the Culver City studio 

or on location. 

Continuing in work will be "Somebody Up 

There Likes Me," "The Opposite Sex" and 

"Somewhere I'll Find Him." The starters include 

"Raintree County," "The Power and the 

Prize," "Tea and Sympathy." "Teahouse of 

the August Moon" (to be lensed in Japan), 

"The Painted Veil" and "The Barretts of 

Wimpole Street" (to be made in London). 

'Brave' to Bow in Detroit 

HOLLYWOOD—Irving H. 

Levin, president 

of Filmakers, took off for Detroit to finalize 

details of the April 4 world premiere of "The 

Bold and the Brave," which is being distributed 

by RKO. Starring Wendell Corey, 

Mickey Rooney and Don Taylor, "Brave" will 

open at Detroit's Broadway Capitol Theatre, 

followed by bookings in 11 key situations in 

the Butterfield circuit in Michigan. 

Smokey Bear in Film 

HOLLYWOOD—Smokey Bear, the U. S. 

Forest Service's animal character, will make 

his film debut in the Walter Lantz cartoon, 

"Red Riding Hoodlum," through arrangements 

made by Lantz with William W. Huber, 

director of the Department of Agriculture's 

forest fire prevention service. The short is 

for U-I release. 

Six April Releases 

Cited By Council 

HOLLYWOOD—Six April releases were 

given citations of merit by the Southern 

California Motion Picture Council at the 

organization's Tuesday (27) monthly meeting 

under the chairmanship of Mrs. William A. 

Burk president. The selections: 

Warners' "Serenade," given the SCMPC 

Four Star award, and "The Searchers," a 

C. V. Whitney Pictures presentation for 

Warner release; Universal-International's 

"Touch and Go," made in Britain by the J. 

Arthur Rank organization; "The Bold and 

the Brave," a Filmakers production distributed 

by RKO; United Artists' "Patterns," 

and "On the Threshold of Space," 20th-Fox. 

A featured speaker at the luncheon session 

was Samuel G. Engel, 20th-Fox filmmaker, 

who discussed the work of the producer. 

The SCMPC is affiliated with the National 

Screen Council, which each month selects 

the "best picture for the whole family," and 

which choice is the recipient of the BOX- 

OFFICE Blue Ribbon Award. 

USO Women Will Honor 

Bob Hopes at Luncheon 

HOLLYWOOD—The women's division of 

the Greater Los Angeles USO will pay tribute 

to Bob Hope and his wife at a luncheon 

April 5 for their decade of service to the USO 

and to American service personnel at home 

and overseas. The event will kick off national 

USO Month in southern California. 

For his industry service, humanitarianism 

and civic leadership, Jean Hersholt will be 

honored by the film trade and the Mount 

Sinai Hospital and clinic at a Biltmore Bowl 

banquet scheduled to be held May 16. Y. 

Frank Freeman, Paramount studio head, and 

John K. West, NBC vice-president, are cochairmen 

in charge of arrangements. 

3 Subsidiary Companies 

Are Formed by UPA 

HOLLYWOOD—Three subsidiary companies—UPA 

Enterprises, UPA Music and UPA 

Music Publishers—have been formed by UPA 

Pictures, Inc., with Charlotte Gilbert in 

charge. UPA president Stephen Bosustow said 

franchises are being negotiated with national 

manufacturers for costumes, greeting cards, 

toys, children's records and other items featuring 

Mister Magoo and Gerald McBoing- 

Boing, UPA cartoon characters. 

The two music firms will publish and promote 

original tunes and compositions featured 

in upcoming UPA product. 

$15,000,000 World Gross 

For 'Duel in the Sun' 

HOLLYWOOD—David O. Selznick's "Duel 

in the Sun," now being reissued by the Selznick 

Co., has passed the $15,000,000 figure in 

world grosses, it was reported by the Selznick 

organization. Starring Jennifer Jones and 

Gregory Peck, it thus ranks among the five 

highest-grossing films in history, the organization 

claims. 

j 


— 

— 

— 

—— 

— 

Tattoo 7 

at Chicago 

Gains After Awards 

CHICAGO—Business at the United Artists, 

which increased 25 per cent even though "The 

Rose Tattoo" was in its fifth week, was big 

boxoffice news. The increase was of course 

attributed to the fact that Anna Magnani was 

the recipient of the Academy award. Other 

holdovers continuing to show strength were 

"The Conqueror" in its fifth week at the 

Oriental, and "Picnic" in a sixth week at the 

State Lake. As for newcomers, "The Court 

Jester" was a strong opener at the Chicago 

Theatre. 

"World in My Corner" at the Roosevelt and 

"Forever Darling" at the Woods didn't do 

badly, but it was felt they would have made 

a better showing had it not been for Lent. 

"Song of the South," reissue at the Loop, did 

a satisfactory business. 


Carnegie Marty (UA) 210 

Chicago The Court Jester (Para) 245 

Esquire Carousel (20th-Fox) 205 

Eitel's Palace Cinerama Holidoy (Cinerama), 44th 

wk 350 

C, ran d Battle Stations (Col), Joe Macbeth (Col). .200 

Loop Song of the South (Buena Vista), reissue. .200 

McVickers Oklahoma! (Magna), 13th wk 275 

Monroe Ransom! (MGM), 2nd wk 195 

Oriental The Conqueror (RKO), 5th wk 250 

Roosevelt World in My Corner (U-l) 215 

State Lake Picnic (Col), 6th wk 245 

Surf Doctor at Sea (Rep) 1 90 

United Artists The Rose Tattoo (Para), 5th wk.. .270 

Woods Forever Darling (MGM) 200 

World Playhouse The Prisoner (Col), 3rd wk 195 

Ziegfeld Diabolique (UMPO), 14th wk 205 

Indianapolis Business Good 

As 'Cry' Leads With 200 

INDIANAPOLIS—First run business was 

slowed a little Sunday by the first burst of 

spring but the general picture is good for 

the stronger attractions. "I'll Cry Tomorrow" 

was in the big money at Loew's and was 

a cinch for a second week. "Carousel" made 

good its bid for a run in a brisk second week 

at Keith's. "Marty" was getting business at 

the Esquire, the art film house, on the 

strength of its Oscars, and "Backlash" was 

a moderate click at the. Circle. 

Circle Backlash (U-l); Postmark for Danger 

(RKO) 100 

Esquire Morty (UA) 1 25 

Indiana Mister Roberts (WB); Rebel Without a 

Cause (WB) 75 

Keith's Carousel (20th-Fox), 2nd wk 1 50 

Loew's I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM) 200 

Lyric Meet Donny Wilson (U-l), Six Bridges to 

Cross (U-l) 80 

Lorry Breuninger, 

For Fox Midwest Circuit, 

TOPEKA—Edd Haas, Fox Midwest district 

manager, at a luncheon held Wednesday (21 >. 

announced the retirement of Larry Breuninger, 

city manager for the past 24 years, and the 

appointment of Carl A. "Cobby" Stewart as 

his successor. Stewart has been manager of 

the Grand since 1942 and had previously 

managed the other Fox houses. 

In addition to Mrs. Breuninger and Mrs. 

Stewart, present at the luncheon were R. P. 

Brous and Senn Lawler, president and division 

manager from the Kansas City office; 

Laura Miller, secretary at the Topeka office; 

Ed Beaman, Jayhawk manager; Dudley Marchetti, 

Orpheum manager; Charles Winburn, 

stage electrician and business agent of the 

stagehands; Webb Burgess, Jayhawk, business 

agent of the projectionists; Charles Calderwood. 

engineer, and Earl Nelson, display 

artist. 

Breuninger joined Fox Midwest early in 

1932 when the circuit purchased his Jayhawk 

Theatre in Salina and he was put in charge 

of the Fox house there. That summer he was 

transferred to Topeka where he had previously 

owned theatres of his own. He virtually 

operated a school for training Fox 

managers and his "graduates" are scattered 

over the area. 

Recently at a district 2 meeting in Kansas 

City, the managers presented Breuninger an 

engraved keepsake watch. Since he and two 

partners now own the Chief Drive-in, U. S. 

75, he will continue to help with its management. 

As for other retirement plans, he 

can only say that because of the interest he 

developed in the sea in a long navy career 

in the 1900s and lasting through World War I, 

he has been looking at Florida as a possible 

place to spend some of his leisure time. 

Letters of good wishes were presented at 

the luncheon to Breuninger and Stewart 

from Elmer Rhoden sr., president of National 

Theatres of which Fox Midwest is a division. 

Breuninger's letter also contained a lifetime 

gold pass to all National Theatres. This was 

Topeka Manager 

Retires 

No. 42, and shows the number of members 

now benefiting from National's retirement 

plan. 

Chicago Showmen Veto 

Theatre Tickets on Credit 

CHICAGO—The reported credit plan for 

theatre admissions, suggested to industry 

executives by the Motion Picture Ass'n of 

America, met with flat disapproval among 

a number of exhibitor executives here. The 

negative reaction hinged on the fact that 

"charge it" privileges would only result in a 

headache for everybody involved. 

Nate Piatt of Balaban & Katz said necessary 

bookkeeping and monthly statements 

would not make up for the price of admission. 

He feels a theatre would suffer a loss 

of between 33 1/3 to 50 per cent if a credit 

plan is adopted. Joe Fuelner of H&E Balaban 

said theatres should operate on a "cash 

and carry" basis and that the handling of 

credit accounts would prove a costly experience. 

He said that if a credit plan is proposed 

for the purpose of stimulating business, 

then price cutting would seem more adviseable. 

He added, however, that based on a 

survey where price cuts have been effected, 

boxoffice problems haven't been solved. Ralph 

Smitha, general manager, Essaness Theatres, 

said that anything so involved as credit for 

what it costs to get into theatres warrants 

no consideration whatsoever. 

Buys Kentucky Airer 

CALVERT CITY, KY—Paul Harrington, 

who ow-ns and operates the Calvert Drive-In 

and the Calvert Theatre here and the Lakeview 

Drive-In near Kenlake, has purchased 

the Lyon County Drive-In near Kuttawa 

Springs, Ky., from Mr. and Mrs. Russell 

Wilson. Harrington said he planned to modernize 

both the equipment and grounds. 

Art Films Big Scorers 

At Kansas City 

KANSAS CITY—The art houses were the 

big grossers last week here, "Diabolique" at 

the Kimo rating 350 per cent of average 

business and Republic's "Doctor at Sea" 

scoring 250 at the Vogue. "The Rose Tattoo" 

held almost steady at the Paramount in its 

second week, following the Academy Award 

announcement of Anna Magnani as best 

actress. Other first run houses failed to reach 

average or little above but the good weather 

put smiles on the faces of drive-in operators 

in the area, some of whom had been canny 

enough to book "Marty." 

Glen Devil in the Flesh (AEF) 110 

Kimo Diabolique (UMPO) 350 

Midland I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM), 2nd wk 140 

Missouri—Three Bad Sisters (UA). Storm Fear 

(UA) 90 

Paramount The Rose Tattoo (Para), 3rd wk 220 

Roxy—The Kettles in the Ozarks (U-l), 2nd wk.. . 75 

Tower, Uptown, Fairway and Granada The Man 

Who Never Was (20th-Fox); Please Murder Me 

(DCA) 80 

Vogue Doctor at Sea (Rep) 250 

FAREWELL LUNCHEON IN TOPEKA—Lawrence Breuninger, who has retired as 

Fox Midwest's city manager in Topeka. was honored at a dinner by friends and associates. 

Left to right: Charles Calderwood. maintenance; Charles Winhurn. stagehand at 

Jayhawk and business agent; Webb Burgess. Jayhawk projectionist and business agent: 

Dudley Marehetti, Orpheum manager; Edward Beaman, Jayhawk manager; C A. Stewart, 

new city manaser; Mrs. Breuninger; Breuninger; Mrs. Stewart: Kit-hard Brous. 

Fox Midwest president; Earl Nelson, Fox artist; Senn I.awler, general manager; Claude 

Moore, booker; Lora J. Millrr, secretary to Breuningir. and Edd J. Haas. 

BOXOFFICE : 

: March 

31, 1956 57

. . Bert 

KANSAS CITY 

JJenry Cngerleider, Durwood Theatres controller, 

who was injured in a motor car 

accident several weeks ago, was on his feet 

the first time Saturday and will be leaving 

the hospital. Rosalie Kurash of the accounting 

department will be married May 6 to 

Richard Kalmar and live in New York . . . 

Fox Midwest reports "Marty" was playing 

the Apollo and the Brookside the night of 

the Academy award dinner and was doing 

all right but broke records after the announcement 

was made. At the 63rd Street 

Drive-in, "Marty" was playing with "Love 

Is a Many-Splendored Thing" and had a 

highly successful run for the several days 

scheduled. The 70-degree weather was also a 

big factor. 

M. A. Levy, midwest division manager for 

20th-Fox, headquartered in Minneapolis, is 

vacationing with Mrs. Levy in Florida . . 

. 

Ralph Winship of Phillipsburg, Kas., was 

in the University of Kansas hospital for a 

brief checkup ... Ed Branch, RCA Service 

. . 

Co. chief clerk, came back too soon after his 

recent surgery and had to go back for further 

convalesence but thinks he is back to 

work for good now . The Anne Theatre at 

Maysville is operating weekends. Howard 

Chris Bean of Hollywood 

Meek is in charge . . . 

Servemaster says the small-town thea- 

tre is about the only place a sandwich can 

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be obtained after nine o'clock at night, so 

indoor houses are great Roto-Grille potentials. 

Frank Weary sr. was in from Richmond, 

Mo., with Frank Weary III from Henrietta. 

Weary sr. said he opened their drive-in at 

Henrietta last Friday to good patronage. 

Other Missouri visitors on the Row included 

Marie Wilhelmini, Norborne; C. E. Meyer, 

Sparta; Dave Williams, King City; Virgil 

Harbison, Tarkio; Harley Fryer, Lamar; Jim 

Cook, Maryville; Ed Harris, Neosho; Elmer 

Bills, Salisbury. Kansas exhibitors included 

Paul Ricketts, Ness City; Marty Landau, 

Horton; Frank Dakalak, Parsons; Ernie 

Block, Sabetha. S. V. Egan of Siloam Springs, 

Ark., was also in. 

The Dickinson circuit has requested first 

run bidding rights for its Glen and Kimo 

theatres. Glen Dickinson jr. said this would 

broaden the bidding scope of those theatres 

which operate as art houses but could also 

play unusual pictures such as "Marty" under 

a more flexible bidding arrangement 

. . . Jack Langan, former Universal manager, 

is reported improved after a relapse over 

the weekend . Frazee, father of Lydia 

Welborn, bookkeeper at National Screen Service, 

died Sunday (25) night in Lamar, Mo. 

She had just returned here from visiting him 

when word reached her of his death . . . The 

Kopulos brothers of Regal Poppers have been 

out in the territory, Gus making Joplin, Neosho, 

Carthage, Mo., and Pittsburg, Kas. 

George was in northern Missouri visiting 

Maryville, Kirksville, Macon, Brookfield and 

Marceline. 

Jack Piatt, RCA Victor sales manager, and 

George Stanley spent several days in Kansas 

City conferring with L. J. Kimbriel, Missouri 

Theatre Supply, local RCA dealer. 

Stanley is expected to replace Don Davis, 

retired division manager, in this area . . . 

Norris Cresswell, manager of the Aladdin 

Theatre, will attend the wedding of his son, 

Ensign P. Cresswell, at the naval air station 

in Pensacola April 13. Afterwards, the 

elder Cresswell will visit a brother in Orlando. 

He was recently made the Kansas 

City member of the KMTA board . . . The 

Pix Theatre at Buffalo, Mo., is reported 

closed. It was operated by S. J. Wilson. 

. . . jr. spent the 

J. W. Shreve of Shreve Theatre Supply 

was home ill Monday but L. D. Hasty, salesman, 

reported the installation of Cinema- 

Scope at the Center Theatre in Oakley, Kas. 

This included Ultra Panatar lenses, backup 

lenses and a Superama screen. Shreve will 

furnish complete equipment for the new 

Oakley Drive-in, which will also be equipped 

for Cinemascope, and will 

Ralph Morrow 

be opening in the 

near future 

weekend with his parents, Ralph Morrow 

sr., Universal salesman, and Mrs. Morrow. 

Morrow jr. was en route to Oklahoma City 

where he planned to pick up a new airplane. 

He is now with the Seven Up Co. of Ohio 

and Detroit and lives in Columbus, but was 

formerly a 20th-Fox salesman here and a 

booker at Universal . . Harry Gaffney of 

. 

Dixie Enterprises now is booking for the 

Moore Theatre at Plainsville, Kas., and the 

Ski-Vu Drive-In. Both are operated by Mr. 

and Mrs. George Moore. 

Bob Herrell of United Film Exchange was 

on a two-week trip to his branch office in 

Denver. Nina Bridges announces a new picture 

to be released from this office, "Wild 

Dakotas," distributed by Associated Films. 

Glen Manager Fined $250 

For Showing of 'Borgia' 

KANSAS CITY—Municipal Judge Earle W. 

Frost fined James Strode, manager of the 

Glen Theatre, $250 for showing "Lucrezia 

Borgia." The police vice squad viewed the film 

January 15 at the Glen and charged Strode 

violated the ordinance against obscene shows. 

Frost made his ruling after seeing only the 

part of the picture which had been ordered 

deleted. Attorney J. H. Anderson contended 

it was unfair to rule against the film without 

seeing it in its entirely. He argued the Bible 

itself has obscene passages, taken separately. 

"If an apple is partly rotten, it doesn't improve 

the rotten part to look at the good 

part," Frost remarked. 

Anderson has filed an appeal in the Jackson 

County circuit court and will ask for a 

jury trial. The French film is released by 

Jewel Productions. It played a four-week run. 

Suit Against Booth Union 

Over 'Salt' Is Dismissed 

CHICAGO—The $316,500 damage suit filed 

by Independent Productions Corp. against the 

Chicago projectionist Local 110 for refusing 

to show "Salt of the Earth" has been tossed 

out of federal court. Federal Judge J. Samuel 

Perry said he had no alternative because the 

distributor's lawyer refused to answer the 

union's questions about Independent Productions 

possible Communist affiliations. 

Columbia to Host Board 

KANSAS CITY—Columbia Pictures has 

invited the Kansas-Missouri Theatre Ass'n 

officers and board members for a luncheon 

preceding the next board meeting Wednesday 

1 18 1. Ben Marcus, Columbia division manager, 

and Tom Baldwin, exchange manager, 

will act as hosts. The luncheon will be served 

in the new recreation room of the Columbia 

offices, with Bill Jeffries, office manager, 

handling the details. The board will hold its 

monthly meeting afterwards in its own offices 

in the Paramount building. 

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LOUIS 

p J. "Mike" Lee, United Artists district 

manager, was in Des Moines and Omaha 

. . . M. A. Levy, division manager for 20th- 

Fox, was in town . . . Mayfield, Ky., is going 

all out for the world premiere of "Quincannon, 

Frontier Scout," scheduled for the 

Legion Theatre there April 6. Tony Martin, 

Peggie Castle, John Litel and John Brownfield 

are among the film luminaries to appear 

at the premiere, along with Kentucky's 

Gov. Happy Chandler. Bud Edele, UA manager, 

and salesmen Eddie Stevens of St. 

Louis and Hal Kimmel of Memphis have been 

hning up other bookings for the film in Kentucky. 

Several functions have been arranged 

to tie in with the world premiere and there 

will be the usual TV, radio and newspaper 

interviews and features. 

Ben Temborious, Lebanon, 111., recently 

returned from Florida, is readying his Avon 

Drive-in at Breese for the season . . . Frances 

Petros has succeeded Mrs. Lennie Riordon 

as secretary to Herb Washburn, manager 

of National Screen Service. Frances was 

on the secretarial staff at Republic about 

three years ago, leaving there to work for 

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her father. She is a cousin of Speros Karides 

of the Ivanhoe Theatre. 

Vic Klarsfeld of the Rialto, Cape Girardeau, 

made his first trip to Filmrow since recovering 

from a recent illness. Other visitors to the 

Row included E. L. Staup and Leon Jarodsky. 

partners at Paris; Bernie Palmer, Paducah, 

Ky.; Lee Norton, Sullivan, 111., and 

C. K. Heidbreder, Virginia, 111. . . Lester 

. 

Bona, manager, Warner Bros., has moved 

into his new home at 1231 Fain Drive, Lemay. 

Mrs. Martin Zimpfer, mother of Ethel 

Zimpfer, secretary to Edward B. Arthur, general 

manager for Fanchon & Marco, is recovering 

splendidly following an operation 

at Barnes Hospital . . . Maureen Arthur, 

daughter of David G. Arthur, head of the 

F & M booking department and chief barker 

of the St. Louis Variety Club, is going over 

big as the guest vocalist at the Town & 

Country, Congress Hotel. 

INDIANAPOLIS 

JVAr. and Mrs. John A. Schwin have sold 

the Wigton at LaGrange to Joseph L. 

Lassus, Wolcottville. Lassus, a refrigerator 

company employe, has operated projectors 

for clubs and churches besides doing extra 

work in theatres. He always has wanted to 

be a theatre manager. He took over the 

Wigton March 1 . . . The Morocco at Morocco 

has reopened under the management of Park 

Werner, who renovated the building and installed 

new sound equipment. 

. . . 

. 

Ernie Covert, manager of the Cascases 

Drive-In at Bloomington, reports it now has 

a brand new self-service concession stand, 

the latest in playground equipment and a 

patio for dancing before the show and during 

intermissions . . . Gilbert A. Dance has been 

denied a zoning variance for a drive-in on 

Route 62 north of Jeffersonville. It was the 

third unsuccessful bid for a drive-in there in 

recent weeks Dick Frank, Paramount 

manager, went to Johns Hopkins Hospital for 

minor surgery last week. He was expected back 

on the job Monday Stearns, 

manager of Keith's, delayed his opening so 

the house could be used for church services 

daily through Friday (30). 

. . 

Allied Theatre Owners of Indiana, convinced 

that "a real public expression will 

defeat fast time" in a state referendum on 

the subject at the polls in November, are 

urging exhibitors "to see that the public is 

informed about the matter . Ted Graulich 

of Evansville has been appointed chairman 

of an ATOI time study committee. Dale 

McFarland is committee member of Indianapolis 

Charles Stanley, operator of 

. . . the Hamilton, admitted the first 100 youngsters 

named Patrick or Patricia free at his 

children's matinee St. Patrick's Day. 

Somebody here was sure to win, however the 

Oscars were distributed. The Circle was set 

with "The Rose Tattoo" showing, and bookings 

for the current week included "I'll Cry 

Tomorrow" at Loew's and return engagements 

of "East of Eden" and "Mister Roberts" at 

the Indiana and "Marty" at the Esquire. 

Jester Designs Costumes 

Ralph Jester has been set as costume designer 

on Paramount's "The Loves of Omar 

Khayyam." 

Harry Bache Introduced 

At St. Louis Luncheon 

ST. LOUIS—MGM gave a luncheon in 

the 

French Room of the Coronado Hotel Monday 

(26 1 to introduce its new St. Louis Manager, 

Harry "Bud" Bache, and to bid farewell and 

best wishes to Thomas E. Bailey, who has 

been promoted to manager at Kansas City, 

succeeding the late William D. Gaddoni. 

Bailey, who became head of the St. Louis 

branch three years ago, is a son of the late 

Eugene Bailey, who was a prominent distribution-exhibition 

personage in Cleveland. 

Tom started with MGM at Cincinnati in 

1930. Later he served as head booker, salesman 

and assistant manager for the company 

at Charlotte, N. C, before coming here. 

Bache has been with MGM at Philadelphia 

since 1925. He served as ad sales 

manager, booker and office manager for 

various periods before being named the 

Philadelphia sales manager in 1951. 

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. . Business 

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CHICAGO 

pred A. Niles, president of Fred A Niles 

Productions, newly formed motion picture 

company of Chicago 

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brought Jack Whitehead 

from England to 

be director of photography 

and head 

cameraman. With a 

background of more 

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production. 

Whitehead has to his 

credit such films as 

"The Red Shoes," "Mog 

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Fred A. Niles "The 30 Steps" and 

others. This is Whitehead's first trip to the 

United States, although he tried for years to 

come to America. Once Alfred Hitchcock 

tried to bring him to Hollywood, but there 

was a strike and union opposition prevented 

the deal. According to Niles, Whitehead will 

spend the greater part of his time in the 

Chicago studios on Hubbard street. 

U-I publicitst Ben Katz returned from a 

delightful and leisurely cruise the day a big 

snowstorm hit New York. He reports he 

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the boat to the rail station so he could return 

to Chicago on schedule 

film industry personalities are vacationing. 

Jack Belasco, manager of the Woods Theatre, 

went to his usual spot in Florida. Evelyn 

Baum of the U-I publicity staff is on her 

annual holiday. Charles Lindahl of Capitol 

Films, his wife and son are spending two 

weeks in Florida. Alice Dubin of this organization 

plans to head for Florida April 13. 

Capitol Film Co. operations are getting 

back to normal since Max Roth is improving 

satisfactorily after his recent illness and can 

spend more and more time in his office . . . 

Bernie Mack of Filmack Trailer Co. said 

the popularity of color concession trailers 

has shown a decided increase ever since outdoor 

theatres started this season's operations. 

He said orders for this type of trailer from 

suppliers of products are being received in 

sizeable quantities every day . . . Alliance 

Amusement Co. has readied three more driveins 

for 1956 operation. In early April the 

Miami Open-Air at Peru, Ind., 

the East Side 

at Terre Haute and the North Drive-In at 

Kokomo will open. 

Dino Tubekis, booker at Alliance Amusement 

Co., was saddened by the death of his 

mother, Bessie Tubekis, who resided in 

Athens, Greece. When she became ill several 

months ago, Tubekis went abroad to spend 

some time with her . (CBS) 

will continue to use the Garrick Theatre as 

a television studio until December 31. B&K 

had planned to reconvert it into a film house. 

CBS has been remodeling the Arena and by 

the end of 1956 expects to originate all operations 

from this spot. 

Opening of "Man in the Gray Flannel 

Suit" at the Oriental March 31 was postponed, 

probably until April 4. The current 

attraction, "The Conqueror," which opened 

at the Oriental six weeks ago with grosses 

exceeding $55,000, continues to do a minimum 

of $25,000 and has been held over. 

Foster Blake, U-I sales manager, arrived 

here Monday (26) for a series of sales conferences 

. . . Irving Spanier of Buena Vista 

came in from New York to become regional 

auditor for Chicago-Minneapolis-Milwaukee- 

Indianapolis area territory. He will headquarter 

here . at the United Artists, 

where "The Rose Tattoo" just completed 

five successful weeks, increased 25 per cent 

when Anna Magnani received the Academy 

Award as the best actress. "Marty," which 

opened in several B&K neighborhood theatres 

throughout the Chicagoland area, gave 

these houses a reported increase of 40 per 

cent. 

A new Italian film, "Anita Garibaldi," starring 

Anna Magnani, is playing at the Cinema 

Annex Theatre. On the same program is 

the midwest premiere of a new Italian drama, 

"Tormento." 

Ray Axelrod, who has been a country salesman 

with United Artists, has joined Warner 

Bros, as city salesman . Gold, owner of 

the Newberry Theatre, is vacationing in 

Florida. Frank Schmidt, his associate, will 

take a Florida holiday within the next week. 

Joseph Berenson, head of National Theatre 

Advertising, left with a crew of five men to 

work the Oklahoma and Texas territory for 

several weeks. Berenson has spent considerable 

time there recently to lay groundwork 

plans. 

Amzi Zaring, Indianapolis 

Exhibitor 45 Years, Dies 

INDIANAPOLIS—Amzi Zaring, 83, exhibitor 

and beloved figure in motion picture 

circles here 45 years, died March 15. Zaring, 

a native Hoosier, was in the laundry business 

when he opened his first theatre, the North 

Star, in 1910. He also operated the Delight, 

Garrick, Columbia and Belmont here and the 

Sipe at Kokomo before building Zaring's 

Egyptian, the city's first de luxe neighborhood 

house, in 1925. It also was the first 

theatre on the north side to have matinees. 

Zaring was a life member of Allied Theatre 

Owners of Indiana and the Variety Club. He 

is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary Addie 

Zaring, and a daughter, Mrs. William L. 

Chapman, Albuquerque, N. M. 

Hans J. Petersen Dead; 

Theatreman Since 1920 

LITTLETON, COLO.—Hans J. Petersen, 

owner of the Vogue Theatre here in partnership 

with his son James, died recently at 

the age of 77. He started in the theatre 

business at Jamestown, N. D., in 1920. He 

operated the State and Opera House there 

until 1935. The later now is the Grand. He 

moved to Harlowton, Mont., and managed the 

State there from 1936 to 1945 for the Knutson 

circuit, after which he bought the Trail in 

Bridgeport, Neb. In 1946 he moved to Morrill, 

Neb., where he had bought the Delmar Theatre. 

The elder Petersen and his son bought the 

Vogue in Littleton in 1949, which son James 

continues to operate. 

Paul Ricketts Takes Over 

Ness City, Kas., Theatres 

NESS CITY, KAS.—Paul Ricketts and 

family have moved to Ness City where they 

will take over the operation of the Ness Theaatre 

and the Star Drive-In from Mr. and 

Mrs. Bernard Hoss, April 1. Ricketts has operated 

the Charm at Holyrood for a number 

of years. He has hired a manager there. 

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60 BOXOFFICE : 

31, 1956

Mitchell Wolfsons On 

Trip Around World 

MIAMI — Mitchell Wolfson, co-owner of 

Wometco Theatres and WTVJ, his wife and 

daughter Frankie and Miss Doris Weinstein 

left Friday (23) for an eight to ten-week 

vacation trip around the world. 

The first major stop for the party will be 

Honolulu, where they have planned four days 

of leisurely sight-seeing, including a drive 

around the island of Oahu, the Mormon 

temple at Laie and Pearl Harbor. From 

Honolulu, a ten-day sojourn in Japan has 

been mapped out with Tokyo their first 

Japanese attraction. They also will travel to 

Kamakura, via Yokohama, where they will 

see the famous giant bronze Buddha; to 

Kyoto, where accommodations include a stay 

at a typical Japanese style inn, and whose 

attractions include visits to the old Imperial 

palace grounds, Nijo castle, Yaska shrine and 

the Thousand Buddhas; to the pagoda of 

Kofukuji and the cherry blossom dances at 

Nara; to Nikko and its famous shrines of 

the Tokugawa Shoguns and Lake Chuzenji, 

and finally back to Tokyo, from whence they 

will depart for Hong Kong. 

After Hong Kong they will stop at Bangkok, 

Thailand, to see its floating markets, 

royal barges, Temple of the Dawn and 

Pasteur Institute for four days before proceeding 

to Rangoon, Burma, and thence on 

to 

India. 

In India they will visit the world-famous 

Taj Mahal, Jasmin tower, the Rajghat. where 

Mahatma Ghandi was cremated, take an 

elephant ride in the pink city of Amber, visit 

Parliament House and a multitude of beautifully 

embellished temples and mosques. 

The first of May will find the Wolfson 

party in Cairo, where they will visit, by camel, 

the great pyramid of Cheops, the Sphinx, 

King Tut's tomb, the mosque of Mohammed 

Ali and the citadel, and by felucca (sailing 

craft i, across the Nile to Thebes. Five days 

later will find them observing the famed 

Acropolis of Athens, with its magnificent 

Parthenon, Temple of Jupiter, Mars Hill and 

the theatre of Dionysus and the Byzantine 

convent in Daphne. 

Istanbul is their next to last stop, where 

they will see the tomb of Alexander the Great, 

the seraglio Palace of the Sultans, with its 

fabulous collection of jewels and armor, the 

serpentine column of Delphi and the mosque 

of St. Sophia. 

And finally, before sailing from Cannes on 

May 16 aboard the Independence, the Wolfsons 

will spend five days in Rome, seeing the 

Vatican, the Roman Forum, the Arch of 

Hadrian, the Colosseum and the Sistine 

Chapel. 

Two Joe Hendren Theatres 

Modernized at Erwin, Tenn. 

ERWIN, TENN.—Joe Hendren of the Capitol 

Theatre and Holiday Drive-In Theatre 

has launched a $15,000 to $20,000 program of 

remodeling and modernization of both theatres. 

The marquee of the Capitol Theatre 

is being widened to 40 feet—the width of the 

theatre building on Main street. The interior 

is being painted and new display panels 

for coming attractions will be added. 

New carpeting is being laid. The seats are 

being reupholstered a few rows at a time, 

so that the theatre can continue to operate 

during the improvement program. 

A Cinemascope screen has been installed 

at the drive-in as well as new projection 

lenses. The theatre has been repainted in 

readiness for an early April opening and 

some paving of entrance driveways was 

scheduled. 

Florida State Razing 

Two Orlando Buildings 

ORLANDO—Florida State Theatres is removing 

two old landmarks, buildings in the 

heart of the downtown area, from its theatrical 

property at the corner of Orange avenue 

and Livingston street. 

When fully cleared, the site will reveal a 

ground area roughly 150x425 feet, together 

with additional area parking space. One of 

the buildings being razed has long served as 

an art shop for FST theatres, and a strip of 

the property facing Orange avenue currently 

contains a used car lot. 

No FST officials were available for comment 

on what plans, if any, they are making 

for converting this piece of vacant downtown 

real estate to theatre use. 

Clermont House Planned 

For Patron Comfort 

CLERMONT, FLA.—A 20-ton air conditioning 

system recently was installed in the Lake 

Theatre here. The seating capacity is 288 

downstairs and 66 seats in the balcony, making 

a total of 354. Another feature planned 

for patron comfort is the seating arrangement 

itself. The rows are more than three 

feet apart, making it not only possible but 

practical for a patron to enter a row of seats 

from either aisle without disturbing anyone 

already seated. 

Four Houses to Debut 

For Stewart-Everett 

CHARLOTTE—Stewart & Everett Theatres 

will open two new theatres and two rebuilt 

houses within a four-week period, starting 

Wednesday (28), according to E. G. Stellings, 

president of the circuit. 

The Drake Theatre in Wilson, N. C, which 

was partially destroyed by fire recently, has 

been completely rebuilt and was reopened 

Wednesday. The Morehead Theatre in 

Morehead City, N. C., which was destroyed 

by fire in February, is being rebuilt and will 

open about April 20. 

The circuit now is building the Bragg 

Theatre on Bragg boulevard in Fayetteville 

and plans to open that house about April 

4. About April 18, it will open the new Center 

Theatre in Jacksonville, N. C. 

The Bragg will seat about 750 persons, 

while the Center will seat approximately 

1,000. All four theatres feature the latest in 

sound and projection equipment, air conditioning 

and other conveniences. Total value 

invested in the four projects is estimated at 

half a million dollars. 

Malco, Memphis, Settles 

Damage Suit for $10,000 

MEMPHIS—The $100,000 damage suit for 

permanent injuries received when a Malco 

Theatre lobby door fell on Mrs. Virginia Lee 

Grannis Bigham was settled for $10,000. 

The petition stated Mrs. Bigham was waiting 

by the glass door while her father bought 

tickets. The door toppled off its hinges, 

striking her in the chest and knocking her 

to the floor. The petition also said Mrs. 

Bigham received a deep cut in her left leg, 

requiring about 100 stitches at Methodist 

Hospital. 

Theatre Folk Are Judges 

LARGO, FLA.—Stephen C. Barber, manager 

of the Largo Theatre, hosted the final 

judging of the Miss Largo contest. Judges 

were Eva Jones, assistant manager of the 

Florida Theatre, St. Petersburg; William Wilson, 

manager of the Carib Theatre, Clearwater, 

and Lester Pearsall, manager of the 

Midway Theatre, Tarpon Springs. The contest 

was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. 

Build at Fayetteville 

FAYETTEVILLE, N. C—Herman Meiselman, 

Charlotte, owner and operator of a 

chain of theatres in the Carolinas, is erecting 

a 1,200-seat de luxe conventional theatre 

here. 

Theatre Burglars Get $291 

MEMPHIS—The Normal Theatre lost $291 

to burglars recently. John Eaton, manager, 

told police the culprits entered the theatre 

after closing time by breaking out a pane 

in an exit door. 

RENOVATED THEATRE OPENS—The "new" Paramount Theatre at Greenwood, 

Miss., reopened recently after being closed for nearly five years, is shown in the photo 

at left. At right, is a photograph of the renovated interior of the theatre, including Alexander 

Smith carpeting, American Desk seating, and the reconstructed balcony. The 

theatre is owned by Mr. and Mrs. George Davis and W. A. Prewitt Jr. 

BOXOFFICE : 

: March 

31, 1956 

SE 61

. . Bernstein's 

. . The 

MIAMI 

XXTometco's Sidney Meyer took a jaunt to 

Nassau recently, combining a brief holiday 

with a look at the circuit's theatre there 

. . . Wometco's "Adventure Time" morning 

matinee brought action films to nine neighborhoods 

... A ten-cartoon color carnival 

and a free bag of popcorn and candy was the 

Saturday special at 25 cents admission to 

children at the Bard Theatre. Doors opened at 

9:30 .. . Claughton's free children's matinee 

at the Circle included free candy, cartoons. 

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Cinemascope 

IN 

serial and an adventure feature. Candy was 

free at two other neighborhoods. 

. . . Loew's 

FST's Shores Theatre presented a fivehour 

show for the Saturday matinee, with 

two features and nine cartoons 

Riviera had a kid matinee with free candy 

and other gifts, plus a "Lassie" picture, a 

comedy short and five color cartoons . . . 

Both the Coral Way and the 27th Avenue 

drive-ins had Saturday midnight features at 

no extra admission . Turnpike 

Drive-In had a Saturday triple feature show, 

opening at 5:30 at an early bird 25-cent admission. 

The neighborhood Tower had a free 

"School's Out" children's show on a recent 

Friday morning . . . Walter Klements held 

over "Diabolique." Advertising has been 

carrying a line requesting patrons not to 

reveal the film's ending to friends. The 

holdover ad thanked the "thousands of 

patrons who have kept the secret." 

David Ffolkes, costume designer, has been 

in town with a selection of the Persian and 

Macedonian costumes worn in "Alexander 

the Great," plus on-location color slides. 

"The most expensive costuming job in the 

history of the movies," he said. Practically 

every ersatz pearl in Madrid was used for 

the highly jeweled cloaks and gowns worn 

in the picture. Ffolkes said he was on 

location every day during shooting and even 

appeared in a minor role. 

Variety Women's Committee has chosen a 

Guys and Dolls theme for the annual spring 

fashion show, one of the fund raising projects 

for the club's hospital. Mrs. Edward Melniker 

is chairman of the event; Mrs. Nathan L. 

Traub is reservations chairman, and Mrs. 

Albert Pollak and Mrs. Fuller Warren are cochairmen. 

"Greater love for his work hath no man," 

said Herb Rau of the News, reporting that 

UA's exploitation man Addie Addison is here 

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. . . For "The Littlest Outlaw," 

in town wearing shorts emblazoned with 

embroidered replicas of ancient Grecian coins, 

to honor the opening of "Alexander the 

Great" Carib had a "Ladykillers" 

contest. One of the judges was Steven Reese, 

formerly Mr. Universe, Mr. World and Mr. 

America. There were three winners. 

A cartoon carnival at three Wometco driveins 

was an early Thursday evening dividend 

for children, celebrating the next day's holiday 

from school 

playing three Claughton theatres, a 

special "child-adult" matinee price, weekdays 

only, was inaugurated. One child and one 

adult for one dollar. 

The Carib had a stage preview of the 

"Miss Miami Beach" contest, preliminary for 

the "Miss America" event. George Jessel 

was emcee for the occasion ... A notable 

patron of "Oklahoma!" at the Sheridan recently 

was Adm. Richard Byrd, who was 

interested in seeing the Todd-AO equipment. 

FST is ballyhooing the secretaries contest 

for a free trip to Hollywood. Circuit theatres, 

Burdine's department story and Delta 

Airlines supply the blanks. Contest is for 

"Miracle in the Rain" ... An usher, accused 

of setting a fire at the downtown Florida 

Theatre in 1954, was free after dismissal of 

his arson case. The 18-year-old youth has 

been released from the state hospital as 

"mentally competent again." He was judged 

"insane" at the time of the fire . . . The 

Empress Hotel in Miami Beach is headquarters 

and shooting site for "Shakedown 

on Biscayne Bay," starring Lee Cobb, Patricia 

Medina and Edward Arnold. Shooting started 

March 27. 

Cancer President Lauds 

Claughton Chain for Aid 

MIAMI—Rear Admiral C. D. Leffler, USN, 

retired president of the Miami branch of the 

American Cancer Society, wrote the following 

letter to amusement editors George Bourke 

and Herb Rau of the Miami Herald and 

Miami Daily News, respectively. 

"As you are the entertainment editor of 

your paper, it might be of interest to you to 

know of the splendid cooperation this organization 

has received from the Claughton Theatre 

chain in its efforts to mitigate the impact 

of cancer on our community. 

"Our rapidly expanding operation has 

found us short of space for the storage and 

distribution of essential items for cancer 

patients. Our budget does not permit us to 

pay for additional space. It was, therefore, 

a great assistance to us when the Claughton 

theatre chain furnished us a very large area 

for an auxiliary distribution station. 

"In addition to this fine help on our service 

to the cancer patients in the community, 

they are assisting us in our public education 

program by making available two theatres for 

a special showing of a film 'Breast Self- 

Examination,' on April 7. This film has been 

credited with saving thousands of lives 

throughout the United States." 

Albert Dutton Sr. Fined 

MEMPHIS—Albert C. Dutton sr., 39, was 

fined $500 in criminal court after he pleaded 

guilty to selling obscene pictures. Dutton is 

a movie projectionist at Normal Theatre. The 

state charged Dutton rented and sold obscene 

motion picture films and still pictures. 

He was arrested by police officers posing as 

prospective purchasers. 


. . Eugene 

Ray Connor Named to Head 

Cinerama Run in Atlanta 

ATLANTA—Cinerama officials have announced 

the appointment of Ray Connor of 

New York City as managing director for the 

new Cinerama Theatre here. Formerly the 

Roxy, the theatre is to be opened early this 

month. 

Connor has managed Cinerama theatres in 

St. Louis and Washington. He has a theatrical 

background of some 30 years, and formerly 

managed the famous Palace Theatre 

on Broadway. Eddie Howe of Los Angeles 

has been appointed director of public relations 

for Cinerama here. 

'Meet Me' Rates 300 

In Its Memphis Debut 

MEMPHIS—"Meet Me in Las Vegas," MGM, 

did three times average business the first 

week at Loew's State to set the pace for 

Memphis first runs. 


Molco—Never Say Goodbye (WB) 90 

Palace— Backlash (U-l) 100 

State—Meet Me in Las Vegas (MGM) 300 

Strand—The Rose Tattoo (Para) 110 

Warner—Our Miss Brooks (WB) 75 

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M'emphis will be among the first cities in 

the nation to see theatre showings of Sir 

Laurence Olivier's "Richard in." The sweeping 

Technicolor, VistaVision film will open at 

Crosstown Theatre April 19, Richard Lightman, 

advertising-publicity director of Malco 

Theatres, Inc., announced . Yerian, 

director of Little Theatre, is recovering 

satisfactorily at Baptist Hospital following 

major surgery. 

Ernest Borgîine in "Marty" opened at 

Loew's State Friday (23), two days after the 

Oscar awards were announced. "The Rose 

Tattoo" with Anna Magnani was playing at 

the Strand when the winners were announced. 

Drive-ins already open for the season include 

Carlisle Drive-In, Bradwell, Ky., R. C. 

Adams, owner; Sunset Drive-in, Winona, 

Miss., Jack Flowers, manager, and Mary 

Drive-In, Cherokee, Ala., H. A. Ligon, owner. 

April 2 was set as opening date for the Twilight 

Drive-In, Bruce, Miss., owned by Earl 

Reese. The Dresden Drive-In, Dresden, 

Tenn., was to open March 31. 

D. W. Bright, Hi-Y Drive-In, Henderson, 

Ky., was a Memphis visitor . . Mississippi 

. 

exhibitors booking in Memphis included Max 

Connett, Roxy, Newton; Mrs. J. C. Noble, 

Temple, Leland; Finley Moss, Ackerman, 

Ackerman; Howard Langford, Folly, Marks, 

and Bob Lowrey, Blue Mountain College 

Theatre, Blue Mountain. 

Arkansas exhibitors visiting here were 

Gene Higginbotham, Melody, Leachville: T. 

F. Ford, Ford, Rector; K. H. Kinney, Hays, 

Hughes; John Staples, Carolyn, Piggott. and 

William Elias, Murr, Osceola . . . From Tennessee 

came E. S. Pollock, Strand, Honenwald; 

Mrs. Helen Brewster, Dixon, Dixon; 

Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Rice jr.. Rice, Brownsville; 

R. B. Gooch, Ritz, Selmer; Amelia Ellis, 

Mason, Mason; Louise Mask, Luez, Bolivar; 

and Mrs. M. M. West, Center, Centerville. 

Memphis Variety Tent 20 will hold its annual 

membership dinner April 9. George C. 

Hoover, International Chief Barker, will 

speak. 

Theatre and Supply Man 

Injured in Plane Crash 

PALMETTO, FLA.—Roy Jones, who operates 

the Palmetto Drive-In, reports that his 

brother Harry, 42, who suffered a broken 

vertebra, head and chest injuries in a plane 

crash while en route to Evanston, 111., Is 

"holding his own." Harry Jones, who owns 

two drive-ins in Illinois, was preparing to 

install new equipment in them, and was 

being flown to the Illinois city by Oakley 

Busier of the United Theatre Supply Co. of 

Tampa, which will install the new equipment. 

The plane, a small single engine craft, burst 

in flames while over Kentucky. They were 

rescued a few minutes before the plane exploded. 

Both suffered severe injuries. 

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fêne Skinner, 

executive of Dixie Drive-Ins 

here, has returned from a business trip to 

Savannah. The Palms Drive-In, Savannah, 

Homer Clark, former 

will reopen April 1 . . . 

Howco office manager, has taken over the 

territory left vacant by the death of Jay 

Waters. He will cover south Georgia and 

. . . east Alabama Mrs. Bernice Fricks of 

Howco has been promoted to head booker, 

and a new employe is Billie Fay Cook, biller. 

Donna Brown, former biller, resigned when 

she and her husband moved their residence 

California. 

to 

Roy Nicaud, Lippert New Orleans manager 

and former Howco Atlanta manager, 

visited Atlanta and Martin Theatres . . . L. E. 

Searcy assumed operation of the John Theatre, 

Ariton, Ala., March 1. The theatre was 

formerly operated by his brother T. V. 

Searcy, who has moved to Clio, Ala., where 

he took over the Clio Theatre from H. Alexander. 

Coley Brown, manager at National Theatre 

Supply, has returned to his office following 

a short stay in the hospital . . . Paul Gaston, 

Rex and Lincoln theatres, Griffin, Ga., visited 

Filmrow following a business and pleasure 

trip to Moultrie and Albany. 

According to Tom Lucy, Exhibitor's Service 

agent for the Twin City Theatre, Greymont, 

Ga., that theatre will be closed between 

April 1 and June 1 for extensive remodeling 

. . . Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Wilson, Ashway 

Drive-In, Greeneville, Tenn., were visitors on 

the Row, following a vacation trip to Cincinnati, 

Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis. Wilson 

took over the Ashway Drive-in, Greeneville, 

March 16 from Robert T. Croft and plans 

to operate on a fulltime schedule. 

John Jarvis, former IFE representative who 

resigned to enter another field some time 

ago, is back with IFE covering Atlanta and 

Jacksonville. His office is located at 164 

Walton St. N. W., Atlanta. His wife Mary is 

secretary at ABC Booking office . . . Ralph 

McCoy, formerly with Warner Brothers, has 

disposed of his motel at Springfield, Mo., 

and is back in Atlanta. McCoy has not yet 

announced his future plans . . . Frank Pierce, 

former owner, Barbour Drive-In, Louisville, 

Ala., has taken the operation back from Olin 

Evans of Florala, Ala. 

. . . H. P. "Dusty" 

A. C. Cowles, agent, said the Joy Theatre, 

Gurley, Ala., was closed for ten days for remodeling 

. Hi-way 50 drive-in, Lewisburg, 

Tenn., reopened Saturday (31) according 

to John Boyd 

Rhodes has returned from a business trip to 

his Victory Drive-In, Columbus, Ga., and 

Montgomery and Jet drive-ins, Montgomery, 

Ala. 

The Victoria, Algood, Tenn., has again 

closed according to Minor Stover, who recently 

took it over from H. H. Huddleston . . . 

John Moffitt, Moffitt Theatres, Montgomery. 

Ala., was a visitor on Filmrow following a 

visit to Fayetteville with his mother . . . The 

following exhibitors were recent visitors on 

Filmrow: Herman Abrams, Lumpkin, Lumpkin; 

Sid Laird and L. J. Duncan, Al-Dun 

Amusement Co., West Point; Mr. and Mrs. 

C. W. Wade, Wadesonian Theatres, Clanton 

and Maplesville, Ala.; Charlie Simpson, 

Simpson Theatres, Chattanooga, Tenn.; 

"Moon" Corker, Alps Road Drive-In, Athens; 

Tom Miller, Park-Vue Drive-In, Muscle 

Shoals, and Hoke Shipp, Warm Springs 

Foundation, Warm Springs. 

. . . 

Joe Jackson, Clanton Drive-In Theatre, 

Clanton, Ala., recently purchased property 

in Clanton as a future site for a new theatre 

Bob Saunders, Theatre Booking Service, 

Charlotte, was in Atlanta advising distributors 

that the Houston Drive-In, Macon, will 

reopen April 1 ... J. V. Lawson, New Theatre, 

Palatka, Fla., visited en route to Chattanooga, 

Tenn., on vacation. 

According to John Powers, the Star Theatre, 

Cedar Bluff, Ala., has been closed permanently 

. . . W. E. Blue will reopen the 

Woodbury Drive-In, Woodbury, May 1 . . 

. 

Mrs. Lester Neely, Neely Theatres, Marion, 

Ala., has been elected by the Alabama Theatre 

Operators Ass'n as vice-president to fill 

the unexpired term of her late husband . . . 

E. D. Martin, president of Martin Theatres, 

has been elected president of the Muscogee 

County chapter of the Georgia University 

Alumni Society. 

. . 

Joy Gould, United Artists advertising head, 

was in working on "Alexander the Great." 

WOMPI 

soon to open at Loew's Grand . 

news: President Stella Poulnot, assisted by 

Tillie Shapiro, personally outfitted 49 little 

girls of the Formwald Street Mission with 

Easter shoes and socks. This was the 

WOMPI March project, and Stella and Tillie 

took the little girls down to the Economy 

Shoe Store and fitted them with shoes and 

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— 

! 

socks. WOMPI members brought groceries 

and canned goods to the luncheon March 28 

for an unemployed film inspector out of work 

since Christmas. Her hospitalization insurance 

for two months has been paid by the 

officers, board members and committee 

chairmen. Sympathy to Nell Allen, former 

WOMPI president, in the death of her husband 

I. H. Allen, who died March 22 ... At 

the Sadie Hawkins dance April 6, the annual 

Laura Kenny Award will be presented to the 

"WOMPI of the Year" by the winner of the 

award last year, Mrs. Frankie English, veteran 

Paramount employe. This award is 

based on service, loyalty, interest and attendance. 

Cinerama Will Go Plushy 

For Big Atlanta Benefit 

ATLANTA—The Stanley Warner Cinerama 

Corp. is making elaborate plans for the opening 

of "This Is Cinerama" at the Roxy Theatre 

April 2. Proceeds will go to the Atlanta 

Symphony orchestra and the details are in 

charge of the Atlanta Symphony Guild. 

Chartered planes will bring a group of celebrities 

from New York. A buffet dinner at 

the Dinkier Plaza will precede the openings. 

A New Orleans chef will be in charge of the 

menu. Members of the orchestra will act as 

strolling players. 

After the dinner the guests will walk four 

blocks to the theatre on a red carpet. This 

will require 2.000 yards of material on both 

sidewalks and streets. Gold footsteps painted 

on the carpet will point the way, and all 

traffic around the Roxy will be rerouted four 

hours before the carpet is laid on the street. 

Average Film Rentals in France 

The average film rental in France, according 

to the National Film Center, is 44.5 per 

cent of the net receipts of the complete program, 

being higher for TJ. S. films than any 

others. 

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Always A Pleasing Boxoflice Attraction 

Burlesque Films Halted 

At Hollywood Drive-In 

HOLLYWOOD, FLA. — Midnight shows 

starring shimmying burlesque queens, features 

of the West Hollywood Drive-In for several 

weekends, have started a wave of protests 

rolling in to newspapers, civic groups 

and police. The films are advertised "for 

adults only." 

County Solicitor Emerson Allsworth said 

theatre operator Frank Krickler is not breaking 

any laws. "There are no state or local 

statutes which govern the kind of films which 

theatres may show, and the state does not 

require motion pictures to be reviewed by a 

board of censors," he said. "Florida is about 

15 years behind the times. The owner could 

be charged with creating a public nuisance 

if there are enough valid protests from the 

public." 

Krickler appeared before the county solicitor, 

in response to a subpena, and agreed 

not to show any more of the objectionable 

films. 

NEW ORLEANS 

Wariety Tent 45 hosted a sneak preview of 

its new quarters at 920 Gravier St. here 

last week. All is complete except for the 

dining room furniture but this did not detract 

from the main portion of the beautiful 

lounge, bar, TV area which is complete and 

already in use. Hundreds of Variety Club 

members and members of the city's commission 

council and the mayor were at the preview. 

Members of Tent 45 are proud of their 

quarters and will have an elaborate and 

formal opening affair later in the spring. 

Neal Robinson has assumed ownership of 

the Park Drive-In at Crestview, Fla., effective 

March 22, from L. Craig. Robinson also owns 

the Fox, Eglin, and Dixie Drive-In at Crestview 

... A. Shannon of the Idle Hour Drive- 

In, Yazoo City, Miss., will reopen the drive-in 

on April 6. J. G. Broggi of New Orleans does 

the buying and booking. 

S. Guillory of the Melba Theatre at Elton 

is closing the theatre effective April 1 . . . 

Bill Houston is the new office manager at 

Universal. Houston was recently transferred 

here from TJ-I's Dallas branch . . . W. G. 

Bradley, Paramount southern division manager, 

was in town for a sales meeting. 

'Silver Dollar' Aids 

MIAMI—Jake "Silver Dollar" Schreiber, 

retired showman who has devoted the last 

decade or so to philanthropic activities, had 

his famous covertible decorated in his customary 

striking style during the recent Telethon, 

during which Variety Tent 33 raised 

$94,590 for the Variety Children's Hospital. 

The nonstop 16-hour affair was telecast 

over WGBS. 

Grant Raulerson to Wed 

LARGO, FLA.—Miss Genevieve Conway, a 

nurse at Bay Pines Veterans Center, will 

wed Grant Raulerson, owner and operator of 

the Clearwater Drive-In. 

aJuItlrauM... 

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BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 G5

. . Ted 

. . The 

JACKSONVILLE 

lM'aurice Shaaber, film technician and head 

of the Wil-Kin Theatre Supply branch 

here, talked before the Optimist Club and 

described the development of motion picture 

projection from 1910 to 1956. He said that 

"blue-white light, replacing brown, and constant, 

replacing variable, speed of operation 

in booth projectors are key factors in the 

industry's technical advance. The blue-white 

illumination alone made color possible, and 

the introduction of sound necessitated a 

standard speed of projection." Col. John 

Crove, retired theatreman, also addressed the 

Optimists and was presented with a framed 

scroll which praised the city's exhibitors 

for "maintaining a high level of entertainment 

for the public's benefit." 

Variety members and their wives enjoyed 

a fun night in the clubroom at the Hotel 

Roosevelt . Chapeau, president of 

Variety's Jacksonville Fair Ass'n, opened a 

fulltime association office in the Buckman 

building, with Mrs. Kay Armstrong as executive 

secretary. Chapeau said the second 

will have 

annual fair, October 25-November 3, 

participating exhibits from eight counties 

instead of three as at the 1955 fair, and he 

anticipated an attendance exceeding 100,000 

persons first bona fide stage show 

. 

to play at a local theatre in years was at 

the Palace, managed by George Krevo. It 

is a touring road company out of New York 

called the Gay Nineties Revue which features 

a group of former vaudeville headliners. 

The program also included a screening of 

MGM's "It's a Dog's Life," first run here. 

. 

Cinemascope equipment has been installed 

in the following theatres: Victory, Bushnell; 

Starlite Drive-In, Port Myers; Gold Coast 

Drive-In, Deerfield Beach; Newberry, Newberry, 

and the State Prison at Raiford 

A. W. Cook was preparing to open his 

. . 

new 

Federal Drive-In at Pompano, with Jack 

Rigg scheduled to book it out of his local 

Glenn Gryder's Florida Booking 

office . . . 

and Buying Service here has acquired these 

new accounts, effective May 1: Howard 

Smith's three theatres, the 41 Drive-In and 

Dixie at Brooksville and the Skylark Drivein, 

Ocala. 

flLdl B001G OfflCC 

Experience — Industry — Integrity 

ALBERT E. ROOK, Owner 

160 walton st. n.w. 

&&gfr* 

tel. alpine 8314 s^6&%X K 

p.o. box 1422

Albany Paper Suggests 

End to Censorship 

ALBANY—The Knickerbocker News has 

twice suggested In editorials recently, that 

motion picture censorship for New York 

State might not be necessary or wise. The 

first time, after listing 14 bureaus and state 

activities which might be curbed or curtailed—considering 

Gov. Averell Harriman's 

record-high budget of I 1 ; billion dollars—the 

local Gannett paper commented: 

"We need more socially responsible movies. 

Censorship is difficult at best, since the courts 

are continually ripping holes in the law. 

Some public-spirited citizen groups, though, 

do much good." 

On the second occasion, the Knickerbocker 

News printed a long editorial in which it 

stated the opportunity for settling the question 

of screen censorship "may be imminent 

because of the willingness of Capitol Enterprises, 

Inc., to brush aside questions of fact 

and present the appellate division—and 

eventually the U. S. Supreme Court—with 

an uncluttered constitutional issue." 

Capitol Enterprises is distributor for "Mom 

and Dad," which the motion picture division 

has banned as indecent. In appealing the 

bureau's ruling, attorneys for the distributor 

are conceding for the purposes of the appeal 

that the film is "pornographic." This technical 

concession allows them to challenge the 

state's licensing practice on constitutional 

grounds. Appellants' attorneys also contend 

that "bans imposed prior to exhibiting films 

violate the First Amendment." 

"If this were a simple issue," the News 

added, "it would have been settled long ago. 

Judging by the actions of their representatives 

in the legislature, the people of New 

York apparently want some sort of restraint 

imposed on film exhibitors; every time the 

courts knock out a movie censorship law the 

legislature promptly passes another in slightly 

modified form. 

"Prior censorship is the easy way to handle 

the problem; it doesn't involve policing and 

prosecution. Usually the state doesn't have 

to prove anything, but maybe the easy way 

isn't the best way." 

Ridgetown, Ont„ House 

Bought by W. R. Geddis 

RIDGETOWN, ONT.—The Palace Theatre 

here changed hands recently when William R. 

Geddis took over the reins from Menzo T. 

Craig who is retiring. Craig first opened the 

theatre here in 1933. He had previously 

opened the Dresden Theatre in 1917 and has 

continued to operate the two houses. 

Geddis will operate both the Dresden and 

Ridgetown theatres, and Craig will continue 

to be connected with the operators in an 

advisory capacity for some time to come. Mr. 

and Mrs. Craig plan to spend much of their 

newly found freedom in traveling and "enjoying 

life to the full." 

Film Production Firm 

Is Launched at Frisco 

HOLLYWOOD—Bishop-Hittleman Pictures 

has been formed as a production partnership 

by Carl K. Hittleman, independent filmmaker, 

and Frank C. Bishop, northern California-Nevada 

rancher and horse breeder. 

Planning three pictures a year, the company 

has established headquarters in San Francisco. 

Philipsburg House 

Damaged by Flames 

PHILIPSBURG, MONT. — Workers have 

started reconstruction of Granada Theatre, 

where a fire broke out in the main lobby 

recently. The fire started about 9 o'clock 

in the evening and spread quickly over all 

the lobby in minutes. The large swinging 

doors acted as a shield and kept the fire 

confined to the lobby, except when people 

ran through, allowing fumes to escape and 

set fire to the curtains in the auditorium. 

A number of persons panicked and ran 

to the projection booth to jump from the 

booth window on the second floor to the marquee 

and onto the ground, but the majority of 

the audience passed safely through the 

emergency doors. After the fire department 

arrived, the fire was soon under control 

leaving a severely charred lobby, office and 

mezzanine, and a badly soaked auditorium. 

Undersheriff Nick Munis remained on the 

scene all night to guard against the possibility 

of fire breaking out again. Tom Churchwell, 

a local man, and son Jerry arrived at 3 a. m. 

and watched with Munis until Sunday morning. 

Mrs. Malcoln Noreen, manager of the theatre, 

announced the B. F. Shearer Co. of 

Seattle would have charge of the finishing 

work. It is expected that the renovation job 

will be completed within 30 days. 

Winnipeg Bonspeil Title 

Again to Kaufman Rink 

WINNIPEG—Ten rinks participated in the 

fourth annual motion picture pioneer bonspeil 

held at the Maple Leaf Curling Club under 

the co-chairmanship of Charles Krupp and 

Harold A. Bishop. Sam Swartz was in charge 

of the refreshment committee. 

For the second year in a row, the championship 

went to the Kaufman rink, made up of 

Dave Kaufman, Northmain Drive-in, skip; 

Mr. and Mrs. G. Miller, Kelvington, and David 

Rothstein, Rothstein Theatres. The Henry 

Morton memorial trophy was presented to 

the champions by Paul Morton, son of the 

late Henry Morton. Suitable personal gifts 

were presented to each team member. 

Runnersup in this event, who won the Film 

Service prizes, were: Charles Krupp, Alliance 

Films, skip; Norman Wallace, manager of 

the Royal Bank near the film exchange; Sam 

Pearlman, Columbia, and Libby Bookhalter, 

Alliance. 

The second curling event, winner of the 

Jacob Miles memorial trophy, was won by the 

Norrie rink, skipped by Len Norrie, Empire- 

Universal, with Joe Mazure and Bob Shuster, 

both of E-U, and Al Smith of 20th-Fox. Besides 

personal gifts for each team member, 

Lou Miles presented the trophy to Norrie, who 

originally was a Western Theatres employe. 

Runnersup in the second event, receiving 

Famous Players prizes, were Paul Johnson, 

Windsor, skip; Lou Litman, Regent, and Miss 

Bernie Tourgeon, Columbia. Luncheon was 

served during the games. 

Spots 600 Pole Cards 

Lester Pollock, manager of the Loew's at 

Rochester, N. Y., spotted 600 pole cards on 

lamp posts throughout the city for his 

showing of "I'll Cry Tomorrow." 

RESEARCH 

for 

BUREAU 

MODERN THEATRE PLANNERS 

ENROLLMENT FORM FOR FREE INFORMATION 

The MODERN THEATRE 

PLANNING INSTITUTE 

825 Van Brunt Blvd. 

Kansas City 24, Mo. 

Gentlemen: 

3-31-56 

Please enroll us in your RESEARCH BUREAU 

to receive information regularly, as released, on 

the following subjects for Theatre Planning: 

Acoustics 

Air Conditioning 

Architectural Service 

"Black" Lighting 

Building Material 

Carpets 

Coin Machines 

Complete Remodeling 

Decorating 

Lighting Fixtures 

rj Plumbing Fixtures 

D Projectors 

Projection 

Seating 

Lamps 

Signs and Marquees 

Sound Equipment 

Television 

Drink Dispensers Theatre Fronts 

Drive-in Equipment Vending Equipment 

Other Subjects 

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Signed 

Postage paid reply cards for your further convenience 

in obtaining information arc provided in The MODERN 

THEATRE Section, published with the first issue of 

each month. 


P. A. STAPLES Portrait by Fabian Bachrach 

^Hershey Employees 

cited for 

Payroll Savings Plan..." 

wholeheartedly recommend that all business executives 

activate this plan in their respective companies." 

R A. STAPLES, Chairman of Board anil President, 

Hershey Chocolate Corporation 

"We, the officials and employees of the Hershev Chocolate 

Corporation of Hershey, Pennsylvania, are proud 

of the citation recently presented to us for outstanding 

participation in the United States Treasury's Payroll 

Savings Plan for the purchase of Savings Bonds. 

"We all realize fully the importance of sound money 

to the economy of our country and our community. I 

If your company has the Payroll Savings Plan, your 

State Sales Director will be glad to help you organize 

a Person-to-Person Canvass that should increase employee 

participation to 50%, 60% or more. If you do not 

have the Plan, he will show you how easy it is to install 

one. Write to Savings Bond Division, U. S. Treasury 

Department, Washington, D. C. 

The United States Government does not pay for this advertising. The Treasury Department 

thanks, for their patriotic donation, the Advertising Council and 

BOXO FF ICE 


3,000-Seater Is Slated 

For Albuquerque 

ALBUQUERQUE — Albuquerque 

theatre 

owner Tom Grilling and his brother, Henry 

S. Griffing, president of an Oklahoma theatre 

chain, have formed a partnership and 

have announced plans to build a 3,000-seat 

indoor theatre here, which will be the largest 

in the state. 

The new theatre will be more than twice as 

large as Albuquerque's present biggest theatre, 

the Kimo, which seats around 1,400 

persons. It will be built on a 20-acre tract 

of land immediately east of the state fairgrounds, 

on the south side of Lomas boulevard. 

Griffing said plans for the building 

have not been completed and that he does 

not know how much the project will cost. 

He added, however, that "we plan to build 

the finest theatre in New Mexico." He said 

plans include parking space for 1,500 cars. 

Only a 150-foot slice of the tract, fronting 

Lomas, currently is within the city limits, 

but officials of the city are considering 

annexation of the property, which Video Independent 

Theatres of Oklahoma City purchased 

through Savage & Sganzini, realtors, 

from George and Pete Domenici for $80,000. 

Tom Griffing, president of the All-State 

theatre chain which operates the Terrace 

and Duke drive-ins here, recently merged his 

holdings with Video Independent Theatres 

of Oklahoma City, headed by his brother. 

Eight All-State theatres in Hobbs, Odessa, 

Big Spring and Abilene, Tex., plus the two 

drive-ins here and the proposed theatre will 

all be managed by Video, the Albuquerque 

operator said. 

Airer Opening Aids Fund 

To Finance Band Trip 

PERRY, OKLA.—The local drive-in theatre 

here opened for the season recently to the 

strains of "live" martial music. This was part 

of a cooperative effort through which the 

Band Boosters club sponsored the sale of 

for opening night and Manager Gene 

tickets 

McKenna arranged for the band to share in 

the gate receipts. 

The Band Boosters took on the program to 

get sufficient funds for the band to attend 

the Bi-State band festival in Port Smith, Ark., 

this month. 

Drive-In Robbery Series 

Cracked by SA Police 

SAN ANTONIO—A year-old series of drivein 

theatre robberies—netting some $457 in all 

—has been admitted by two 16-year-old boys, 

local police revealed recently. The youths, in 

sworn statements, said they used stolen cars 

for their depredations. 

Their take included: $120 from Kelly Drive- 

In Theatre, April 2, 1955; $60 from Trail 

Drive-In Theatre, April 13. 1955; $210 from 

Fiesta Drive-In Theatre, March 6, 1955. and 

$67 from South San Theatre, April 17, 1955. 

To Be Golf Queen 

HOLLYWOOD—Leigh Snowden. U-I contractee, 

has been chosen queen of the upcoming 

Las Vegas golf tournament, to be 

held April 26-29 at the Desert Inn for the 

Damon Runyon cancer fund. 

New Drive-In to Be Ready 

May 1 

in Burnet, Tex. 

BURNET, TEX.—Mr. and Mrs. T. J. 

White 

have started work on a new drive-in located 

on Highway 29, one-fourth mile from town. 

They plan to have the installation ready to 

open May 1 in time for summer tourists. 

Landscaping is almost complete. Trees have 

been removed and bulldozers have cleared 

and leveled the land in terraces. 

Ray Alverson of Burnet has the contract 

for construction of the 300-car theatre which 

will be a combination theatre and refreshment 

center, White said. The concessions 

building, to measure 24x68 feet, will include 

a boxoffice, projection room, modern rest 

rooms and refreshment center. The refreshment 

center opens not only inside the 

theatre, but also on the outside so that tourists 

may purchase food and drinks without 

entering the theatre. White has been in the 

theatre business here for 23 years. He and 

Mrs. White moved to Burnet and opened the 

Burntex Theatre on Pierce street in 1933. 

After 15 years of operation, they opened the 

new Texas Theatre on Washington street 

in 1948. 

Jack Carrigan, architect of Dallas, designed 

the screen tower and Byron Jenkins of Burnet 

designed the concession building. 

Long Strike at Statewide 

Ended With Agreement 

SAN ANTONIO—A nine-month old projectionist 

strike against the Statewide Theatres 

came to an end here with the signing of 

a new contract. The settlement was announced 

jointly by theatre management and 

the local projectionists union. Statewide operates 

the Alamo, Mission, Rigsby and South 

Loop drive-in theatres. 

Both union spokesmen and Arthur Landsman, 

son of the president of the firm, declined 

to reveal terms of the new contract. 

Durwood Taylor, business representative for 

the union, said a strike against the jointly 

owned Fiesta, El Capitan and Roxy theatres 

will continue. It also began last June. All 

other drive-in theatres are presently under 

contract, he said. 

AWARDING OSCAR PRIZES—Morris 

B. Konstantin jr., left, manager of the 

Pasadena Drive-In, presenting the awards 

to winners of the Oscar contest. W. T. 

McKenzie, 1314 Ruell St., Houston, center, 

won first prize by scoring 100 per 

cent and received a six month pass. Mrs. 

Lindy Hall, right, 12-3 Monroe Drive, 

Pasadena, came in second with only one 

miss. She received a three-month pass to 

the theatre. (Picture by Richard Crawford.) 

Norman Prager New 

Cooper City Manager 

OKLAHOMA CITY—Norman Prager, who 

introduced talking pictures here back in 1928, 

has returned as Oklahoma City manager for 

Cooper Foundation Theatres. 

Prager managed the Dome Theatre in 

Ocean Park, Calif., for Fox West Coast last 

year. He started in the theatre business 40 

years ago at the age of 12, selling candy in 

a New York theatre. He was manager of the 

old Capitol Theatre on Oklahoma City's Main 

street in 1928 when the first talking picture, 

"Jazz Singer," starring Al Jolson, played here. 

When Cooper bought out Paramount's interest 

in the Capitol Theatre later that year, 

Prager was transferred by Cooper to St. 

Joseph, Mo., where he managed Cooper theatres 

for four years. Then Prager went to 

Massachusetts as theatre manager for Paramount. 

Latter he was with the Schine 

circuit for 13 years. 

HOUSTON 

Tnterstate's Conrad Brady, recently transferred 

to the Dallas office, was presented 

a plaque before he left by the Boy Scouts 

here for the contribution of his time and 

work toward the Scout movement in the 

area . . Ellis Ford, manager of the Broadway 

. 

and Yale theatres, was using different 

shows for the two houses for a change . . . 

Eddie Miller, head of the local booth union, 

has been confined in St. Joseph's Hospital. 

Actress Ramsey Ames was in town plugging 

"Alexander the Great," which is coming 

to Loew's soon. Among spots she visited 

was a rehearsal of the annual Press Club's 

gridiron dinner and show. She even had her 

picture in a Houston paper demonstrating 

some acting to one of the performers in a skit. 

Latest advertising on "Alexander" is a contest 

sponsored by the producers in cooperation 

with Loew's State Theatre for students 

under 15. They submit entries in which they 

complete the sentence: "I cooperate in the 

sale of Easter Seals because ..." in 50 words 

or less. Prizes are $150 and free tickets to 

the film. 

Paramount's Paul Chapman was working 

out of Houston all last week . . . The winner 

of the Hoblitzelle award this year will receive 

a $5,000 cash award and a gold medal 

as the Texan who has made the most outstanding 

contribution to the advancement 

of agriculture in professional fields during 

the past three years. This award was established 

in 1950 by Texas theatre man and 

philanthropist Karl Hoblitzelle. The award 

will be made through the Karl Hoblitzelle 

Agricultural Laboratory at the Texas Research 

Foundation at Renner in May. Anyone 

may nominate an agricultural worker for 

the award. 

New Oklahoma Theatre Opens 

OWASSO, OKLA.—The Davis, the town's 

first theatre, was opened March 15 by Mr. 

and Mrs. Jack Davis, owners. The 300-seat 

theatre is in the new Sherrill building, has 

a widescreen and new sound and projection 

equipment. The opening feature was "Return 

to Treasure Island." 

BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 SW 69

. 

MOSE-ING 

THROUGH 

•THOMAS A. Luttrell has initiated Parking 

Lot Day at the Cinema Arts Bowie Theatre 

in Fort Worth each Tuesday and Wednesday 

to bolster midweek receipts. Although it 

arranged for the weekend pa- 

was originally 

tronage, the stunt was found to be more useful 

on its present dates. 

The promotion is advertised in a lxl % -inch 

inset in the Bowie's regular 2x2 3 8 -inch ad. 

The inset reads "Drive your car to the big 

You will receive a 

theatre par-king lot . . . 

Take this to the boxoffice. 

special ticket . . . 

$1 admits everyone in your car." 

Luttrell is using tickets numbered from one 

to ten; when the patron parks his car on 

the lot, the theatre attendant counts the 

occupants and punches out the number minus 

two. The patron takes the ticket thence to 

the boxoffice, purchases two 50-cent admissions 

and the rest are admitted via the count 

punch. 

The neighborhood theatre is located a short 

distance from the Will Rogers Auditorium and 

Coliseum in a business district on Camp 

Bowie boulevard. The clientele is average 

for second sub run and the stunt shows 

promise for the family fare. The 18-year-old 

Bowie has been kept trim and updated, therefore 

the patron feels he has actually been 

awarded a prize instead of trading charity 

at the boxoffice. 

Luttrell, manager at the house since De- 

Central & West Texas 

-By EARL MOSELEY. 

THOMAS A. LUTTRELL 

cember 1, first was employed at Interstate's 

old Fair Theatre in Dallas in 1936. He served 

in the Army from October 1940 until December 

1945, then returned to the circuit as 

assistant manager at the old Forest, later 

named the Colonial. Later he managed the 

Bell Theatre in Temple for Trans-Texas, 

which company transferred him to their Capitol 

in Amarillo, where he remained until it 

burned. He then served around the Interstate 

Amarillo theatres for awhile, until William 

O'Donnell placed him on his present 

assignment. 

The Bowie parking lot gimmick is only 

one of his Fort Worth innovations. Although 

Luttrell runs a Saturday kid show in addition 

to his regular program each week, he 

has booked a special Bugs Bunny cartoon 

festival for his pre-Easter event. And, for 

several weeks prior to playdate (31), he 

used a lobby 40x60 poster rack to announce 

its coming. 

* * * 

It's lucky for us that Price J. Lawson lives 

in Fort Worth. Otherwise, we would probably 

get lost there and, being too timid to 

ask directions from a stranger, spend the 

rest of our years trying to chart a course. 

This has happened twice—both times when 

we were looking for R. C. "Cliff" Sparks, 

business agent for the projectionists in the 

city "Where the West Begins." 

We first met Cliff two summers ago at 

Interstate's Seventh Street Theatre under 

Lawson's directions via the telephone. But 

recently he served the purpose again in 

person. 

Cliff was in Phil Isley's Riverside Drive-In 

projection room and he was expecting us. 

He had given us prior directions to its 28th 

Street location, but we misplaced the memo. 

Going from memory we wound up at Lone 

Star's Belknap Drive-In. Fortunately, "Chief" 

Lawson was in the projection room there and 

he and Don Wileman, the manager, got us 

on the right road to Sparks. 

Cliff related that his father J. H. jr., had 

been a member of the Fort Worth projectionists 

local since 1914, right after the charter 

was granted; he had begun his career in the 

old Gatesville-McGregor local in 1941 and 

later transferred his membership to the 

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. . . Seen 

. . . Mr. 

. . "The 

Vernon-Childress local. It wasn't until after 

he had served 18 months in the Army that 

he came into Fort Worth as a member in 

July 1945. He became its business agent in 

1954 election. Since then, Sparks has been 

re-elected 

twice. 

* * * 

Shelton McCuistion suggested that theatre 

ad layout men might look at the grocery 

store newspaper copy before they tackle their 

next assignment. There is wisdom here. Most 

of 

their layouts display a scale of originality, 

flare and eye-catching appeal that theatre 

men would do well to study. Mack is now 

senior projectionist in the Cleburne Video 

theatres. 

DALLAS 

/"•ol. 

H. A. Cole was to leave for Mayo clinic, 

Rochester. Thursday for a physical 

Harvey Hill, booth union business 

checkup . . . 

agent, reported that Clarence Nix, 

Interstate 

screening room operator, has returned 

home after major surgery at Baylor 

Hospital . . . C. E. "Red" Supard, operator 

at the Wilshire Theatre, has been in the East 

Dallas Hospital and Clinic, 6003 Victor St., 

six weeks. 

Roy Boomer and his wife Charlotte are 

spending about a month in Dallas as the 

guests of Henry Sorenson, former owner of 

Modern Theatre Equipment Co. Boomer recently 

retired as secretary of the Theatre 

Equipment Dealers Ass'n. Sorenson spent 

two months in Hollywood visiting with his 

daughter after having sold his business. Mr. 

and Mrs. Boomer came back with him to 

Dallas. 

The South Grammar School PTA sponsored 

a showing of "King of Kings" at the State 

Theatre in Mercedes, a Lew Bray Theatres 

house. 

Hal Cheatham, publicity director for Interstate 

Theatres, became the father of a baby 

daughter Tuesday (20), named Joan Elizabeth 

along Filmrow were Julius Gordon 

and Debs Hale of Jefferson Amusement Co., 

Beaumont; Jack Lily, Palace, Commerce; 

Windy Daniels, Palace, Seguin; Eddie Joseph, 

Joseph Drive-in Theatres, Austin; Mr. and 

Mrs. I. R. Causey, Royse, Royse City and 

Hans Smith, Irving, Irving. 

. . 

The Variety Club will hold its monthly meeting 

in the Roof Garden of Hotel Adolphus 

April 2 with a buffet dinner for all members. 

Variety International convention will be discussed 

and a report made on the progress of 

the new club quarters . Green thumbs are 

becoming apparent along Filmrow. In spite 

of a hectic spring, signs are evident of an 

abundance of fresh green vegetables. Wallace 

Walthall, National Screen Service; Evelyn 

Neely. Weisenburg Theatres, and many others 

have brought vegetables to their friends in 

the business. 

Free to Children Under 12 

SAPULPA, OKLA.—Bob Gettler, manager, 

has reopened the Teepee Drive-In Theatre 

here for the season and announced that the 

season's policy would be to admit children 

under 12 free of charge. 

SAN ANTONIO 

II lice Garza and James Vargas will be married 

here in April. Her father is Paul 

Garza, operator of the Follies Theatre . . . 

The Arts is minus a cutout of Italian film 

star Sophia Loren. Mrs. Muriel Wolfe, manager, 

said that the lifesize poster was stolen 

from its display in the lobby . . . Ginny Simms, 

the native San Antonio singer, will headline 

the Miss Fiesta stage show at the Muny Auditorium 

April 5, Saul Wolf, manager of the 

city-owned theatre, announced. 

Edward G. Edwards, Clasa-Mohme head 

booker here, was preparing for new season 

releases ... A. Gutierrez resigned at Clasa- 

Mohme to go back to work at Kelly Field . . . 

"The Man Who Never Was" failed to show 

up for a scheduled run at the Aztec, so Manager 

Norman Schwartz double-billed two TJ-I 

features, "The Creature Walks Among Us" 

and "The Price of Fear." 

Tommy Powers, manager of the Texas, 

brought back two Academy Award winners, 

"Mister Roberts" and "Rebel Without a 

Cause" on the same program . 

Texas 

Ranger," a television film produced by local 

interests at the studio in Bandera, now is in 

the hands of Hal Roach jr., producer of TV 

pictures in Hollywood. 

Larry J. Pico, who played the organ at the 

old Palace and Rialto here 30 years ago, reports 

the death of Alexander Durning, 80, 

New Orleans theatreman, exchange manager 

and operator of Durning's Theatrical Agency. 

They were friends when Pico lived in the 

Crescent City . . . Manuel Solis, Ranch Drive- 

In, Alice, was here booking Mexican product 

and Mrs. Leon D. Glasscock will sail 

from New York June 9 for Europe where 

they will spend a part of the summer. He is 

head of Glasscock Theatres in south Texas. • 

They will be accompanied by their three 

children. 

The new Bandera Road Drive-In has been 

admitting children free with a 50-cent charge 

for adults . . . Ruben Ayala celebrated his 

20th year with Azteca Films here. He is head 

shipper . . . Alfred Paweleck, owner of the 

Midway Drive-In, Karnes City, was here 

booking Mexican product. He plays Spanishlanguage 

pictures every Thursday night. 

Manuel Ayala, Local 407, now is doing 

mechanical work for Equipo Sales Co. here. 

George Murphy spoke at the first anniversary 

banquet of the Headliner Press Club of 

Austin recently. Gov. Allan Shivers presented 

the charter of the Independence of Texas to 

Murphy. Bob Heliums, Interstate city manager; 

Eddie Joseph, Joseph Drive-In Theatres, 

and Louis Novy, Trans-Texas Theatres, 

attended. 

Yale, Okla., Rex Is Closed 

After Glen Dalton Dies 

YALE, OKLA.—Funeral services were held 

Wednesday last week for Glen Dalton, owner 

of the Rex Theatre, who died following a 

heart attack. He was 52. Dalton collapsed 

on a downtown street. A resident of Yale 

for 18 years, he was past president of the 

Yale Chamber of Commerce. Survivors include 

his wife Elizabeth, and a son Robert 

of Bartlesville. Mrs. Dalton said she will 

close the theatre for the present. 

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Franklin Adreon will direct Republic's "The 

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. . Mrs. 

. . K. 

: 

OKLAHOMA CITY 

Mational Theatre Supply moved its marquee 

from the Lee street side of the building 

to the Grand avenue entrance Monday (26)— 

then decided to see how long it would take 

anyone to notice the change. Promptly at 

7:15 a.m., a sign reading "The first exhibitor 

to read this gets $1" went up above the front 

door. At 12 noon, Clifton Newton of Oklahoma 

City's Jewel Theatre walked in to claim 

Ruth McGee, inspector for 

the prize . . . 

Warners, is in the hospital recuperating from 

major surgery. 

Oklahoma exhibitors will be interested in 

knowing OK State Motor Express has sold 

out to Magic Empire Express of Tulsa. Olen 

Nuckols will remain as manager. The express 

company has been used as a delivery service 

by many exhibitors throughout the state for 

several years . Charlene Ellerd, who 

with her husband Truman operated the Ritz 

at Blanchard, died Sunday after an illness 

that had kept her in the hospital several 

weeks. She is the sister of Mrs. Jeff Holman 

(Avece Waldron), who operates the theatres 

in Lindsay. 

Exhibitors in town included Leonard White. 

Weatherford; Walsie Campbell, Wynnewood; 

H. D. Cox, Binger; Truman Ellerd, Blanchard; 

Buddy Hicks, Nowata; Clint Applewhite, Carnegie; 

H. B. "Red" Leathers, Paducah, Tex.; 

Silas Pack, Haskell; Mrs. Izah Adams, Sulphur; 

Eddie Jones, Sand Springs; C. L. 

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(,. ADVENTURES INTO THE FUTURE «u«m MM ANOHWS 

ASTOR PICTURES CO OAUAS 1. WAS 

BUFFALO 

3409 Oak Lawn, Room 107 

Eiites 

Lance, Ringling; J. C. Millirons, Snyder, and 

Mrs. C. W. Duncan, Weleetka. 

Two Video Theatres employes are recent 

brides. Sue Mason, keypunch operator, became 

Mrs. Leonard Lewis March 24. Peggy 

Young, comptometer operator, was married 

to Charles Young on the 23rd . W. 

Archer is reopening his Butler Theatre at 

Butler for Friday and Saturday nights . . . 

The Film coffee shop on Filmrow has changed 

hands. New owners are Mr. and Mrs. W. E. 

Garrett. This is the Garretts' first venture 

into restaurant ownership, though both have 

had previous experience in restaurant work. 

Margaret Tulius of Warner Bros, is in the 

pup-raising business in her spare time. Her 

dachshund Gretchen had five pups last week 

. . . Temporarily AWOL from Oklahoma Theatre 

Supply was Walter Wortham, who's 

building a storm cellar at his home at 4907 

N. Detroit. 

COOLING 

Loew # s Receives Okay 

On Houston Drive-In 

HOUSTON — Loew's 

State Theatre chain 

will build a $250,000 drive-in theatre at Bellaire 

and Hillcroft in Sharpstown, it was announced 

here last week. Final plans have 

been held up pending the okay from the 

Justice Department in Washington, which 

came the 23rd. The theatre, with a children's 

playground and cafe facilities, will be built 

on 35 acres which have been leased for 20 

years with a 20-year option. Construction is 

to start soon and expected to be completed 

in mid-summer. 

Harvey A. Jordan Offers 

Airer Erection Service 

DALLAS—Harvey A. Jordan, pioneer in 

drive-in design and construction, has returned 

to Dallas to open an office at 2013 % 

Jackson street where he and his associates 

will provide complete designing and supervision 

of construction of new drive-in theatres. 

Ready-made plans also will be sold 

to operators who wish to build and supervise 

construction of their own outdoor projects. 

Jordan currently is supplying the designs 

and supervision of two of the largest driveins 

in the south, Leon's at Abilene and 

Loew's at Houston. 

He is in a position to handle designing and 

supervision anywhere in the TJ. S. 

Jordan is well known to exhibitors throughout 

the southwest and his friends along Filmrow 

are wishing him the best of luck in his 

expanded venture. 

High Temperatures Hold 

Back Dallas Patronage 

DALLAS—Temperatures jumped from 45 to 

the middle 90s and theatre patronage suffered 

somewhat. 


Majestic—The Rose Tattoo (Para) 110 

Palace—The Lost Hunt (MGM) 75 

Rialro—The Three Musketeers (MGM); The 

Yearling (MGM) 75 

EQUIPMENT 

BUFFALO ENGINEERING CO., INC Dallas, T«ai 

LETTERS 

BOXOFFTCE 

Salesmen Not 

Critics 

Theatre folk are not critics, we are not in 

the newspaper business. Our job is to sell 

the entertainment, never to appraise it, for 

the masses. All too frequently this fact is 

overlooked. We exhibit the pictures, and to 

make money from them we cannot afford to 

be critics. We either see what's on the screen 

over and over again or we see only short 

sketches. Therefore, we are not qualified to 

appraise like the journalist, or even the layman! 

Not any of us. 

The prospective patron sates many egos 

daily by asking for opinions from us on 

certain attractions. He incorrectly considers 

us authorities. The seasoned showman, 

though, doesn't argue about this. Instead, 

he tries to point out some part of each film 

as being exceptional—bypassing the opinion 

altogether—for that is his job. That is, if 

he has seen it, the picture in question. If 

he has not, he says so and takes this opportunity 

to give a brief synopsis report he gained 

from the tradepress or from his pressbook. 

Our personal opinions are unimportant. 

Tastes are not alike; every picture has merit 

for some audience. The proof lies within the 

covers of BOXOFFICE—the nationwide 

Barometer ratings, the Exhibitor Has His 

Say and the Review Digest. In nearly every 

case there is a difference of opinion and audience 

reaction. Besides, two employes in the 

same theatre will differ considerably. 

Even when he asks, the patron really 

doesn't want a gripe—he wants entertainment, 

he wants to forget his own problems, 

he wants peace of mind . . . that is what his 

money buys; he will resent anything else. 

The theatre employe critic may inflate his 

ego by issuing reports, but he lowers his 

stock in the process. After one viciously 

complains the lost patron wonders why the 

employe is stupid enough to continue in a 

business he dislikes so bitterly. 

The patron will buy screen problems, but 

not the industry problems. He will shed a 

tear over the screen drama, but will shy 

completely away from the manager's tears 

over low receipts. The smart showman bears 

that in mind every minute of the day. 

Not all illusions are created on the screens. 

Many of them are created by the personnel 

at the front. The ones who pretend to be 

happy when they are not, and who show willing 

interests, are the ones most likely not 

to have a lost audience. The others—the 

gloom spreaders—are selling everyone else 

short and shirking their jobs. 

EARL F. MOSELEY 

BOWLING 

DALLAS—Leon Abrahams, Tower, rolled 

the men's high single, 203, and Lloyd Pullen, 

Rowley, scored the three-game high with 

561. Jeannine Youngblood, Rustlers, scored 

210 for women's high single and Helen Davidson, 

Tower, the three-game high of 527. Fox 

took the team lead with games of 685 and 

1,946, respectively. The standings: 

Teom Won tost Team Won Lost 

Fox 70 38 Rowley 56 52 

Metro 64 44 Paramount .52 56 

Evans 60 44 Tower 51 57 

Rangers 59 49 Interstate ...46 62 

Rustlers 58 50 Blazers 45 63 

Liberty 56 52 Warner 29 75 


School Tieups Help 

Grosses in Sub Runs 

MINNEAPOLIS—Martin Lebedoff, owner 

of a pair of Twin Cities neighborhood houses, 

is meeting success as a subsequent run exhibitor 

by going directly into schools and 

homes for customers, "letting them know 

what the theatre offers and being sure they 

do know it." 

"You've just got to work harder than ever 

before for the business and I'm finding that 

if you do this, It's there, although, of course, 

there's no need to kid yourself—you also need 

the attraction," says Lebedoff. 

In comparison to the onetime dime, the 

children's admission at the Lebedoff theatres 

is 25 cents. 

He has tieups with the schools in his neighborhoods 

so that the teachers call attention 

in the classrooms to film offerings that they 

deem particularly suitable for smallfry. These 

also axe advertised without any cost to 

Lebedoff on the school bulletin boards. 

"Public and parochial school authorities are 

really anxious for the theatres in their neighborhoods 

to play pictures that they consider 

desirable for juvenile consumption and are 

glad to cooperate with me if I'll go along 

with them," says Lebedoff. "So that's what 

I do. I'm very careful about my weekend 

bookings and in planning children's shows 

for Saturdays. 

"I also regularly play special Saturday children's 

matinees, and cartoon comedy bills 

are part of my year-around programming. 

There also are other specialized kiddy programs, 

smallfry giveaways and tieups with 

merchants on gimmicks designed to bring the 

little ones into the theatres. As a result, the 

revenue accruing from the youngsters' patronage 

now figures prominently in my operations." 

Lebedoff also believes the neighborhood 

subsequent run exhibitor can adopt similar 

methods to stimulate adult patronage. 

"I go right into the homes and let the 

people know what I have," he says. "If it's 

something that appeals to them, that gets 

them into my theatres. 

"People can be reached in the homes by 

handbills and other forms of advertising and, 

on very special occasions and not too often, 

even by telephone. They also can be reached 

at club meetings and through their churches 

where it's sometimes possible to have attention 

called to meritorious attractions. Even 

house-to-house calls may be desirable sometimes 

if one is particularly sold on a picture 

and believes he'll be performing a service to 

his possible customers by telling them about 

it face to face." 

Volk Bros. Spend $ 5 0,000 Renovating 

Riverview Theatre at Minneapolis 

MINNEAPOLIS—A number of exhibitors 

hereabouts are demonstrating their faith in 

the future. William and Sidney Volk have 

just expended an estimated $50,000 on one of 

their four local neighborhood houses, the 

6-year-old Riverview. 

The same two brothers a few years ago 

built the suburban Terrace at a cost of more 

than $500,000. Supremely confident of theatres 

ability to weather the TV storm and 

other competition, they now have gone ahead 

with their Riverview. Their Nile will be next 

in line, they say. 

The Riverview project comes on the heels of 

more than $225,000 spent last year to improve 

three other Minneapolis theatres by other 

exhibitors who apparently are unafraid of the 

big bad TV wolf. Ted Mann practically rebuilt 

his downtown World at a cost of $150,000. 

Ben Berger spent more than $50,000 to beautify 

his Loop Gopher and W. R. Prank transformed 

his uptown Avalon into one of the 

more attractive theatres, digging down in 

his jeans to the tune of $25,000 to do so. 

Also, another $15,000 is being spent currently 

to improve and beautify the downtown 

Minneapolis Orpheum lobby and foyer. 

For the Riverview project, the Volks employed 

the city's leading theatre architects, 

Liebenberg & Kaplan. 

In designing and refurbishing the Riverview's 

two large foyers, one of them 75x40 

and the other 36x24 feet, Seeman Kaplan of 

Liebenberg & Kaplan, given carte blanche 

and told to spare no expense, set out to make 

the Riverview more attractive, glamorous and 

beautiful. 

All new, original and modernistic furniture, 

furnishings and carpeting blend in with the 

new decorative schemes and rearrangements 

which also are distinctive. 

Room dividers are used to split up the 

foyers and make it possible to eliminate ropes 

and posts, while still maintaining the openness. 

Planters are used to create the effect 

of bringing the outdoors inside. Numerous 

striking colors are employed without any 

loss of harmony and the indirect lighting 

system produces mellowness. 

Drive-In at North Platte 

Celebrates Reopening 

NORTH PLATTE, NEB.—Patrons who attended 

the season-opening show at the Pawnee 

Drive-In here enjoyed fireworks, took 

part in contests and carried home souvenirs 

of the occasion. The playground was in full 

operation, featuring an eight-horse merrygo-round 

and free Shetland pony rides for 

the tots. 

A free Easter egg hunt was planned for 

Easter Sunday. More than 6,000 Easter eggs 

were purchased and grand prizes included live 

Easter rabbits and boxes of chocolates. The 

Pawnee is operating nightly, with three program 

changes each week.

. . Barbara 

. 

. 

Myron N. Blank Testifies 

Before Senate Committee 

DES MOINES—Myron N. Blank, president 

of Central States Theatres Corp. and president 

of Theatre Owners of America, testified 

before a Senate business subcommittee in 

Washington last week. 

Blank said that "Hollywood talent is glowing 

older and older and has less and less 

appeal to the nation's motion picture fans." 

He said that theatre owners are running into 

increasing financial trouble because Hollywood 

producers have reduced film output in 

recent years. Blank attributed the production 

slowdown to the Supreme Court order 

forcing producers to rid themselves of their 

theatre chains and the "ever-increasing" demands 

of the top stars for higher compensation. 

Blank commented that "once the producers 

no longer had theatres, they were not interested 

in building talent for the future." He 

said, "This attitude and philosophy has resulted 

in an ever-decreasing number of pictures 

along with ever-increasing film rentals. 

"Further, the proved talent is growing 

older and older and has less and less appeal 

to those of the younger generation attending 

the theatres today." 

On the other hand, Blank said, television 

networks, with vast outlets across the country, 

"can develop talent" and, therefore, 

"gamble on the developing of new talent." 

Remodel at Kendall, Wis. 

KENDALL, WIS.—The Elroy Theatre has 

been completely remodeled, including reupholstering 

of the 490 chairs with plastic leatherette 

in watermelon pink. There was no 

interruption of the shows. 

DES MOINES 

gill Burke, home office representative, has 

been helping at RKO in the merger of the 

Omaha office with the exchange here . 

Frank Zanotti has been named second booker 

at RKO. Frank has been at Universal for the 

last several months . Hignote is a 

new stenographer at RKO . . . Also visiting at 

RKO was Paul Back, Disney representative . 

Mike Lee, UA district manager, was here 

conferring with Carl Olson March 22, 23. 

Jay O'Malin, former RKO salesman, now is 

working for UA out of the Omaha office 

Ben Marcus, Columbia district manager, was 

in town . . . Florence Muse, inspector at Columbia, 

was away from the exchange for a 

family funeral at Ervin, Iowa . . . Columbia 

set up a special publicized preview of "Rock 

Around the Clock" Thursday (29) at the 

Paramount. This was the eve of spring vacation 

for school children in Des Moines. The 

picture is slated to open for its regular run 

next month. 

Ted Mann, Minneapolis theatre owner and 

owner of the Orpheum in Dubuque, was here 

booking for his new Iowa theatre . . . Lou 

Levy, Universal manager, is issuing invitations 

to all exhibitors in this area for a specal 

screening of "Toy Tiger" April 6 at the 

Paramount . . . Charles lies, film transportation 

man, is currently fighting a bitter battle 

in his job on the Des Moines city council and 

has the backing of many Filmrowers . . . Glen 

Jargang has opened the Starlite Drive-In in 

Cedar Falls. Many improvements have been 

made during the winter. A snack bar will 

feature cafeteria-style equipment, and new 

anamorphic lenses and a widescreen have 

been added . . . Sam Rhodes, owner, has 

opened the drive-in west of Newton. 

Wall Lake, Iowa, Chamber 

To Operate Theatre 

WALL LAKE, IOWA—At a special meeting, 

the Wall Lake Chamber of Commerce decided 

to lease and operate the Rio Theatre 

for the coming year. According to a lease 

tentatively agreed upon by owner Henry 

Obermeyer and the Chamber of Commerce, 

the monthly rental for the building and 

equipment will be $80. The chamber will have 

complete control of the business and the officers 

of the corporation formed by the 

chamber will handle the business. 

The lease further stipulates that the chamber 

may buy the theatre and has an option 

on same for $7,500 at any time within the life 

of the lease. According to the agreement, 

any money paid in as rent will be applied 

against the purchase price if and when the 

chamber should decide to buy. The lease is 

renewable at the chamber's option. 

The corporation will be a nonprofit affair, 

with no salaries being paid officers. It will 

begin operation as of April 1. 

Fire Scare at Creston 

CRESTON, IOWA—Firemen were called to 

the Strand Theatre here last Saturday afternoon 

when smoke was smelled in the building. 

They found the electric motor on the 

stoker had burned out, causing the smoke. 

There was no fire and no damage except to 

the motor. 


: March 

31, 1956

. . . Warren 

. . Harry 

OMAHA 

T^r. and Mrs. Bob Fridley of Ida Grove became 

parents of a baby daughter named 

Erin Liane. Their first daughter was born 

in September 1954 and her name is Lisa Diane. 

Bob is reopening his King Theatre at Ida 

Grove after being closed during March. He 

also has the Varsity in Des Moines . . . 

Mr. and Mrs. Carl White of Quality Theatre 

Supply reported they are grandparents for 

the sixth time. Mr. and Mrs. Carl White jr. 

have a baby boy, Thomas Lynn, born at 

Immanuel Hospital. The young Whites have 

a daughter also. The four other grandchildren 

are boys, sons of the White's older 

boy who is on the staff of Johns Hopkins. 

Joy Bauer, the former Joy Eakin and 

secretary to Manager George Regan at 20th- 

Fox, reported she and her husband are taking 

a belated honeymoon trip to Las Vegas and 

Los Angeles, starting April 4. The Bauers 

were married in Papillion and are building a 

new home on West Pacific street. Ray Bauer 

is the owner of the House of Bauer at Lincoln, 

nationally known maker of Bauer's chocolates. 

Marvin Jones, exhibitor at Red Cloud who 

has added farming to his many activities, had 

a helper last week—G. Burkett, his fatherin-law 

and exhibitor at Mapleton, Iowa. 

Burkett helped Marvin in a stump-pulling 

operation preparatory to leveling ground for 

irrigation on the attractive Jones layout a 

mile outside of town. 

Film stars made news in Nebraska when it 

was announced that Alan Ladd's children 

have been conveyed mineral interests in a 

section of Cheyenne County land near Potter. 

Also appearing on the deed for land 

where oil is being sought is the name of Bing 

Crosby . . . Bill Haarmann of Co-Op Booking 

Service drove to Niobrara to leave his son 

Dennis with relatives during Easter vacation. 

. . . George 

Film salesmen and exhibitors hailed the 

change of weather to the spring variety and 

the prospects for an end to snow and ice 

driving. Visiting on Filmrow were Phil 

March of Wayne and George March of 

Vermillion, S. D.; Paul Tramp, Oxford; 

Sonny Thacker, South Sioux City; Howell 

Roberts, Wahoo; Wilber Jonas, Gregory, 

S. D;. Bob Fridley. Ida Grove, Iowa, and 

Frank Good, Red Oak, Iowa 

Regan, 20th-Fox manager, was host at a 

screening of "Carousel" at the Orpheum Theatre 

here Friday (30). 

Omaha Filmmen to Form 

Industry Golf League 

OMAHA—George Regan, manager for 20th- 

Fox, said that a meeting will be held Monday, 

April 2, to form a Film Industry Golf 

League. All male employes of the industry 

are eligible. 

Regan said bylaws will be drawn 

up and officers elected. The league will play- 

Saturday mornings. Low men will be selected 

for a team to play against competitors in 

other exchange areas, such as Des Moines. 

To Remodel Theatre Building 

MISSOURI VALLEY, IOWA—At its regular 

meeting, the Missouri Valley city council 

granted a permit to Fred Brown for extensive 

remodeling of the former Valley Theatre 

building on Erie street. 

Ben Berger Seeks 'Richard' 

For Twin City Lyceum 

MINNEAPOLIS—Ben Berger is negotiating 

to bring the film, "Richard ITI," recently 

seen on TV, into his local Lyceum Theatre, 

home of the legitimate drama here, as a 

roadshow attraction. 

Instead of hurting the British film as a 

theatre attraction, Berger is confident that 

the video presentation improved its boxoffice 

prospects. 

Berger reasons that the picture is so terrific 

that many of those who saw it on their 

tiny screens will wish to witness it again on 

the large ones. Also, he feels, that the wordof-mouth 

it has enjoyed since being on the 

air will bring in many customers. 

The Lyceum is equipped for films and under 

previous managements has played some important 

ones. During the last two seasons 

under Berger operation, however, it has been 

devoted entirely to stage fare. 

Carl Hoffman to Reopen 

Blue Hills Sterling 

BLUE HILLS, NEB.—Mrs. Helen A. Pippett 

ten Bensel, owner of the Sterling Theatre 

here, which has been closed since January 25, 

has leased the theatre to Mr. and Mrs. Carl 

Hoffman. The Hoffmans will open the 

Sterling Easter. 

Mrs. ten Bensel closed the theatre shortly 

before her marriage February 8 to C. H. ten 

Bensel. The couple is living at Arapahoe, Neb., 

where ten Bensel, a retired Army man, is 

manager of the port of entry. Before leaving 

Blue Hills, Mrs. ten Bensel leased her apartment 

to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Mulheisen, who 

own the tavern and pool hall next door. 

Mondovi House Not Sold 

MONDOVT, WIS.—Mrs. Harry G. Sleator, 

owner of the Mondovi Theatre here, has not 

sold the theatre. It was reported that Martin 

Storholm had purchased the house, but Mrs. 

Sleator said that no such transaction had 

been considered. 

WESTERN 

THEATRE SUPPLY CO. 

214 N Fifteenth. Omaha, Ntb. .. Phone: Atlantic 9046 

MINNEAPOLIS 

Den Berge^s gamble in buying "Marty" for 

a second Loop engagement, after the picture 

played in many subsequent run houses 

at lower admissions than those of his 

Gopher, is paying off. Berger made the deal 

in the belief that the picture would be voted 

1955's best and also capture other honors. 

With "Marty" delivering in great style on 

the Oscars count, Berger is sitting pretty. The 

picture is expected to run at least two weeks 

at the Gopher. The "Marty" deal, however, 

was a bad break for Columbia's "Rock 

Around the Clock." That picture had a whale 

of a big week at the Gopher, doing much 

more than sufficient to merit a holdover. 

With the city flooded with young people from 

all over the state here for the high school 

basketball tournament it was a cinch to continue 

to big crowds. However, the Gopher was 

obligated to play "Marty" and so "Rock 

Around the Clock" had to depart at the 

height of its prosperity. 

"Diabolique," highly praised French picture 

now in its fifth month in New York, has 

been grabbed off by Ted Mann and will follow 

"The Rose Tattoo" into the downtown 

World . B. French and John Branton, 

Minnesota Amusement Co. president and 

buyer-booker executive, respectively, are back 

after a United Paramount Theatres home 

office visit . . . Abbott Swartz, former longtime 

United Artists manager here, has been 

named to distribute the newest Alec Guinness 

picture, "The Ladykillers," in the midwest 

territory, out of the Twin Cities, St. Louis, 

Milwaukee, Omaha and Des Moines. 

. . . Don 

Irving Marks, ADied Artists manager, went 

to Chicago for a sales meeting 

Swartz, independent distributor, is back from 

a New York conference on "One Road to 

Hell" which he'll distribute in this territory 

Branton, 20th-Fox South Dakota 

salesman, is in Swedish Hospital here receiving 

treatment for a skin ailment. 

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. . Frank 

MILWAUKEE 

lifter a month of individual screenings for 

the Better Films Council, the mayor's 

motion picture commission, the police department 

and a few other interested organizations, 

"The Man With the Golden Arm" 

finally got the go sign and will appear at the 

Fox Palace Theatre. The majority seemed to 

favor deletion of the two scenes in question, 

although all these groups went on record as 

being against the showing of a film of this 

type. 

Ben Marcus of the circuit bearing his name 

was host for members of Allied's board of 

directors at his beautiful new home for the 

regular board meeting. While the menfolks 

were kicking around matters pertaining to 

business, the women gathered in Marcus' 

screening room downstairs for a look at a 

couple of new releases. Just before press 

time, Ben and his wife boarded a train for 

the west coast, where Ben is said to have 

become interested in certain production details. 

. . . Francis 

Don't sell those Fox Wisconsin Amusement 

Corp. folks short: Harry Boesel, Palace manager, 

was responsible for an outstanding success 

at the boxoffice as a result of his 

promotion of "Cat Women of the Moon." He 

used a unique ad and a special platter, using 

nothing but sound effects, on which the disk 

jockeys really went to town. Listeners actually 

phoned into the radio stations to ask 

that the record be replayed 

Bickler at the Wisconsin put on a tremendous 

promotion for "Carousel," with special screenings, 

ads and the staff all dolled up. 

Estelle Steinbach, who holds the fort at the 

Garfield Theatre, is promoting what appears 

to be the makings of a boxoffice stampede. It 

will be named the "Rock 'n' Roll-Arama." 

What with her enormous mailing list and 

talent for promotions of all sorts, all predictions 

point to a full house. Miss Steinbach 

is the only woman theatre manager in this 

area . . . Harriet Ackermann, secretary to Al 

Camillo and John McKay, says she's burning 

the midnight oil in order to get her work 

out so she can attend her sorority's "Kentucky 

Carnival" May 4-7. She is national sergeant 

at arms for Sigma Alpha Sigma sorority, an 

organization for business girls. 

Erv Clumb has added Lyman Nellis at the 

Wurlitzer. In addition to his regular chores 

at the Riverside, he has the Towne Theatre's 

advertising since the Towne has come under 

Standard's banner. His mo6t recent promotion 

was on "The Last Hunt" wherein he promoted 

a buffalo steak dinner at Mader's Restaurant 

for the press. Following the dinner, 

he transported the folks over to the Riverside 

for a gander at the film. As might be 

expected, MGM's press representative Lou 

C H I C A G 0, ILL 


J'RE ASSURED 

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SPECIAL 

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NEW YORK, 

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341 W. Uih ST. 

PRIZED PHOTO—Mrs. Esther Green, 

head of FEPCO theatre advertising company 

in Omaha, last week received a picture 

she prizes highly—a photo taken with 

Kim Novak, star of "Picnic," at the drivein 

convention in Cleveland. At the banquet 

Mrs. Green was standing near the 

end of a long line reaching down the 

hall, waiting her turn to meet Kim. 

Someone came up, led her out of the line 

to the table where Kim was seated and 

seated Mrs. Green for a picture of "the 

two belles." 

Orlove was to be seen flitting hither, thither 

and yon during the entire affair. 

Looks like Madison's Majestic Theatre had 

difficulties with "The Witch." We have a report 

that the police department banned the 

picture because of three scenes in which a 

girl appears completely nude. Also in Madison, 

a 16-year-old youth was placed on a 

year's strict probation in juvenile court for 

assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the Capitol 

Theatre . J. Mueller jr., 69, longtime 

Milwaukee musician, died. He started 

playing the drums at the age of ten, and later 

played in local bands and practically all the 

pit bands of every downtown theatre. Mueller 

was elevated to the board of directors of the 

musicians' association back in 1916. He played 

at the Palace for nearly ten years. 

Seneca House Is Restored 

After a Damaging Fire 

SENECA, S. D.—The Dakota Theatre here, 

badly damaged by fire some time ago, has 

been completely redecorated and is scheduled 

for an early reopening. A new widescreen 

and new equipment, to replace that destroyed 

by fire, has been installed. Also added to the 

hall are 150 new upholstered chairs. Mr. and 

Mrs. Harry Hatfield run the theatre, which 

is located in the community auditorium, 

owned by the town of Seneca. 

Harley Kerr Reopens Lux 

MASSENA, IOWA—Harley Kerr, owner and 

operator of the Lux Theatre here, has reopened 

the house and announced a good program 

of pictures for the coming weeks. A 

special promotion stunt is the '"luck seat" 

with the person fortunate enough to choose 

that particular seat winning a free admission. 

A. A. Hopper Manages 

IOWA FALLS, IOWA—A. A. Hopper has 

been named manager of the two theatres 

here, effective March 12. Hopper has been 

manager of the Pastime in Maquoketa for the 

last two and one-half years. Dale Buchholtz 

of Guthrie Center will take over the Pastime 

managership. 

Sponsoring Group Pares 

Program at Omro, Wis. 

OMRO, WIS.—In a belt-tightening move 

here, the Businessmen's Ass'n voted to cut 

the Omro Theatre's playing time to four 

days a week. Two programs a week will be 

offered, Friday-Saturday showings making 

one program with a change of program for 

Sunday and Monday. 

The sponsoring group explained the move 

as a retrenchment made necessary by rising 

overhead costs which were creeping past the 

revenue figure at the local showhouse. Other 

changes are in process also with much of the 

hired help going by the wayside. George 

Shepard will remain in charge, but will assume 

many other duties formerly performed 

by others. 

The Omro is considered one of the best 

small time houses in the state, and it is 

hoped that signs of increased patronage will 

permit the eventual resumption of a full 

time schedule. 

Theatre Clock Installed 

BURLINGTON, WIS.—The Plaza Theatre 

here has installed a blue-glow theatre auditorium 

clock, by the Barnett Film Service of 

Hollywood, Calif. The local advertiser is 

Droster Realty and Insurance Agency. The 

clock, which has a soft blue light, gives 

accurate time and has been described as a 

tremendous aid to moviegoers. 

Kreigers End Vacation 

TERRIL, IOWA — The Terril Theatre 

opened here Friday (16) after being closed 

two weeks while owners Mr. and Mrs. R. 

Krieger enjoyed a vacation. The Kriegers 

toured the east coast and visited Florida. 

Host Kids at Free Show 

WOODBINE, IOWA—Children under 13 

were guests of the Woodbine Community Club 

at a free show at the Woodbine Theatre 

March 3. This was the first in a series of 

free shows which the club plans to sponsor. 

Ken Moore is manager of the theatre. 

Free Shows at Peterson, Iowa 

PETERSON, IOWA—In a campaign being 

sponsored by the Roxie Theatre to "trade at 

home" in Peterson, the first of three free 

shows was held recently. Tickets are available 

for the movies at business places participating 

in the campaign. 

To Key Omaha Union Post 

OMAHA—Charles Craig, projectionist at the 

Dundee Theatre, has been named business 

representative of the Omaha projectionists 

union. He replaces the late Howard Jackson, 

operator at the Omaha many years. Craig 

has been a projectionist 42 years. 

Threaten Theatre Closing 

PORT WASHINGTON, WIS.—Manager 

William Roob of the Ozaukee Theatre recently 

informed local residents that the theatre 

was faced with permanent closing unless 

patronage improved. 

Installs 

102-Foot Screen 

OMAHA—The Golden Spike Drive-In on 

West Dodge street is installing a 102-foot 

screen. The grounds are being groomed for 

the season's opening. 


Theatre Seat Vandals 

Rated Delinquent 

CRESTLINE, OHIO—Mrs. Leo J. Burkhart, 

wife of the owner of the Crest, only motion 

picture house in this town of 4,500 population, 

was sufficiently aroused by a statement in 

a recent issue of the Advocate saying Crestline 

has no juvenile delinquents that she wrote 

to the Editor's Mail Bag to point out that 

the town does have young vandals. Mrs. 

Burkhart w:rote that for a 20-cent admission, 

the young people, both girls and boys, mutilate 

seats that cost $4 to replace. Replacements 

amount to at least $100 a year. She 

suggests that something be done about this 

before it is too late. 

Here is Mrs. Burkhart 's letter: 

"You made a statement in the Advocate 

this week that isn't entirely true. You said 

that Crestline didn't have any juvenile delinquents. 

Well, I for one disagree. 

"We have the only theatre in town used 

for entertainment of the town's youngsters. 

The next time you come to the show, I'll show 

you something that would make your hair 

curl if you had to pay for it. 

"For a 20-cent ticket we have some children 

who come into our theatre and cut and 

slit our seats until you wouldn't believe it. 

To get down to figures, for each seat cut, 

it costs $4 a seat to have it fixed. For a 

20-cent ticket, it isn't worth letting the children 

in. We have one row of seats where 

every one of the seats have a slit in them. 

"If this condition gets worse, we'll just 

have to make a rule that no child may enter 

the theatre without an adult in attendance. 

The backs of the seats are a cloth felt and 

the children take knives and slit the backs. 

My husband Leo has paid $100 a year for 

repairs to seats ever since we've been here 

and he's got at least $150 more work on them 

now. 

"The theatre is for the public but that 

doesn't give the public the right to destroy it. 

"We ought to do something about these 

youngsters before it gets too late." 

Commenting on this situation, Mrs. Burkhart 

asked whether parents who attend drivein 

theatres with their children permit the 

children to destroy the inside of their automobile. 

She also corroborates other theatre 

owners who say that girls are as destructive, 

if not more destructive, than boys. 

Leo Burkhart, an oldtime exhibitor in these 

parts, maintains a list of "undesirables"— 

young people whom he does not admit into 

his theatre, because of past performances. In 

each instance he notifies the parents of his 

policy. 

"Sometimes we receive parental cooperation, 

and sometimes we don't," Burkhart reports. 

Kentucky Theatre Is Sold 

MORGANFIELD, KY.-W. E. Horsefield. 

owner of the Morgan Theatre, recently 

sold his financial interest in the Victory Theatre 

in Sturgis to his partner in that enterprise, 

Edwin Johnson. In announcing the 

purchase of Horsefield's interest, Johnson 

said he planned to install a widescreen and 

equipment for the presentation of Cinema- 

Scope pictures in the Victory. He also will 

make other improvements to the building and 

equipment. 

Martin Smith's Influence 

Still Helps Industry 

TOLEDO—Generals of the Army are not 

the only veterans who on retirement may 

"fade away but never die." 

Martin G. Smith, who was president of 

Ohio exhibitors associations for more years 

than can be remembered and also former 

president of National Allied, still exerts a 

powerful influence on the affairs of the 

motion picture industry. 

One of Martin Smith's activities is that of 

member of the Toledo Chamber of Commerce 

legislative committee. The objective of this 

committee is to participate in recommendations 

to the state Legislative Service Commission 

in areas of examination that will 

become the basis for major bills introduced in 

the 102nd Ohio General Assembly. 

Martin Smith was also one of the prime 

movers in the effort to induce all downtown 

business establishments, including theatres, 

to observe Good Friday by closing from 12 

o'clock noon to 3 p.m. to permit employes to 

attend services during that period without 

loss of pay. 

All downtown theatres were asked voluntarily 

to keep their boxoffices closed until 

2:30 p.m. and not to start a show until 3 p.m. 

Window cards announcing "A Worshiping 

City from 12 to 3" and "Will Close" cards 

were issued by the Toledo Council of Churches 

and by the Knights of Columbus. 

Vandals Do $3,500 Damage 

To Niles, Ohio, McKinley 

NILES, OHIO—A $100 reward has been 

offered for information leading to the arrest 

and conviction of vandals who caused $3,500 

damage apparently some time the night of 

March 21. 

Police Chief Matt McGowan said, 

"This is 

the worst case of vandalism in Nile's history." 

The theatre is open only on weekends, and 

recently had installed a new screen, reportedly 

costing $5,000. This was slashed in several 

sections. A $2,500 soft drink vending machine 

was badly damaged, as was a candy vending 

device. 

More than 50 pounds of popcorn were 

thrown around, a row of seats was slashed, 

and half-eaten candy bars were ground into 

the carpeting. An empty bottle that had contained 

gin was found on the stage. No 

method of entry has been discovered. 

Bourbon Entertainment 

Starts Construction 

PARIS, KY —Actual work on the construction 

of a new drive-in theatre on land 

at the intersection of the Jackstown and 

Millersburg roads has begun. The theatre is 

being erected by a firm composed of Cynthiana 

businessmen, the firm having been 

incorporated under the name of Bourbon 

Entertainment Co. The six men w'ho formed 

the company hope to have the plant built 

and in operation in a matter of weeks, if 

work progresses without too much interruption 

by the weather. The drive-in will be 

built on the eight-acre tract with the entrance 

and exit planned to be on the Jackstown pike. 

Gee Mitchell Is 

Editor 

DAYTON—Gee Mitchell has replaced Dale 

Evans as amusements editor of the Dayton 

Daily News. 

Ohio Papers Applaud 

Awards Selections 

COLUMBUS—Selection of "Marty" as the 

best picture of the year by the Academy of 

Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the 

choice of Ernest Borgnine as best actor "constitute 

both a tribute and a rebuke to the 

film industry," said the Columbus Dispatch 

editorially. 

Selection of Borgnine and Anna Magnani 

for top honors marks a "veritable revolution" 

in America's taste for film stars, said the 

Ohio State Journal in a similar editorial. 

"It is a tribute to the resources, perceptiveness, 

the originality and technical proficiency 

of Hollywood that a film so far afield from 

the common pattern should somehow manage 

to get made," said the Dispatch. "It is 

a reproach that such a picture should not 

have been produced as a deliberately planned 

effort to delight millions rather than as a 

'throwaway' designed to lose money by offsetting 

huge profits on a couple of formula boxoffice 

hits, and throw the producers into a 

lower tax bracket." 

UNDERESTIMATE MARKET 

The Dispatch added that the success of 

"Marty" underscores again "how greatly the 

filmmakers underestimate the potential market 

for pictures which depend on truly creative 

writing, superior acting and direction rather 

than spectacular effects, hackneyed clinches 

and the expenditure of vast sums of money." 

The editorial said that it was ironic that 

"Marty" was such a success since "the producers 

felt free to disregard every rule laid 

down for the production of a surefire hit." If 

the moral of "Marty" is "taken to heart we 

might get some other films as good as 

'Marty.' " 

The Dispatch concluded: "Mr. Borgnine, 

somewhat of an involuntary beneficiary of 

'Marty's' success, is to be congratulated, too. 

His role catapulted him from run-of-mine 

parts to stardom and if he can even approach 

his performance in 1956's top picture he will 

deserve to stay there." 

GLAMOR NOT IMPORTANT 

The Journal said that neither Borgnine 

nor Miss Magnani would have had a chance 

"in the old days of glamor, the svelte and 

the debonair."' The editorial continued: 

"There was a time when a perfect profile, 

broad shoulders, thin waistline and sleek 

hair were absolute requisites of a male screen 

hero. And the most-favored actress had to be 

a clothier's manikin in human form—and a 

streamlined form at that." 

The Journal sees motion pictures as having 

"come of age" and are now' "adult entertainment" 

and "movie customers do not have 

to have everything and everyone neatly 

labeled. 

"Perhaps it is just as well to hold up the 

mirror of life to those who have not learned 

the fact that a hero may be as homely as 

sin and the femme fatale, whether siren or 

otherwise, may be far from glamorous. We 

dare hope that these recent ventures on the 

screen are educational—even if not exactly 

entertaining—and that they will help us all 

to a better understanding of life and to more 

sympathy for our fellow creatures of whatever 

mien, shape or stature. 

"But pardon us if we sigh just a little 

for the beauteous movie queen of the past. 

(Is there a plot against the pinup girl?)." 

BOXOFFICE :: March 31, 1956 ME 77

. . The 

. . Helen 

. . The 

— 

DETROIT 

Exhibitor Frank Yosohonis has closed the 

Fordson Theatre in Dearborn after many 

years in this location. Loss of his lease 

caused the closing. As yet, Yosohonis has 

made no new plans . . . William Green is 

back on the job in the public relations departof 

Cinerama after a three-week vacation on 

Lang S. Thompson has 

the west coast . . . 

been named vice-president and general manager 

of the Wilding Picture Productions and 

its subsidiaries. He was promoted from 

vice-president in charge of sales. 

Wilson Elliott of the Mount Clemens Jewel 

used a sneak preview of Universal's "Day of 

Fury" and "Never Say Goodbye" on the eve 

of the films' Michigan premiere to promote 

the twin bill, which is being shown for the 

first time here at second run houses of the 

Cooperative circuit on a saturation run. Elliott 

plans another promotional sneak preview 

for the eve of the first showing next 

week of "Backlash" and "World in My Corner." 

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Theatre Supply 

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. 

The Surf art house previewed Marcel Pagnol's 

"Letters From My Windmill" on Friday 

evening, not usually a custom with art 

theatres here Michigan also had a 

sneak preview earlier with "The Birds and 

Lew Wetsman, Wisper and 

the Bees" . . . 

Wetsman Theatres, is back from a trip to New 

York for a week of "pleasure for a change" 

instead of the inevitable business trip . . . 

Dave Frankel is leaving the 20th-Fox office 

here to join Buena Vista. As yet, no 

replacement at the Fox office has been 

named. 

Harry Goldsmith is leaving his sales position 

at Universal's local office to set up a 

booking office here for the Italian Film 

Export, with no replacement at Universal 

following his departure . Grosse 

Pointe Woods Theatre had good response 

to the placement of television sets in the 

lobby on the evening of the Academy Awards 

presentations . Bower, critic for the 

Detroit Free Press, was featured in a page 

spread the next morning in salute to her 

forecast of the top Oscar winners months 

ago. 

Suburban Livonia residents, 300 strong, 

sought a court order early this week to block 

construction of a drive-in restaurant in conjunction 

with their protest against the city 

planning commission's proposed amendment 

to lift the present ban on outdoor theatres 

within the city limits. The city's proposal 

followed a suit filed in circuit court by a property 

owner who claimed the ordinance banning 

the drive-ins was unconstitutional. 

. . . 

Nightingale notes—Ralph Haskin's big 609 

score helped his team to pick up four points 

. . . Roy Thompson outdid himself just before 

leaving for two weeks in the south . . . Sherman 

Lambly gave a lot of help in building his 

team's standing up with a 226 game 

Joe Foresta made his 210 game the hard way 

with the 3-9-10 split . . . Secretary Floyd H. 

Akins advises that Earl Gehringer, secretary 

of the Cleveland League, regretfully explains 

that the idea of an intercity match must be 

Bert London 

turned down this year . . . 

pinch-hit for his father, so missed out on his 

own bowling . . . Welber Haartge and Gagnon 

took the day off from bowling also. 

Midstates Starts Work 

On 1,000-Car Drive-in 

CINCINNATI — Midstates Theatres has 

started construction of the Oakley Drive-in, 

which will accommodate 1,000 cars. 

Elkton, Ky„ House Sold 

ELKTON, KY.—Capt. and Mrs. Calbitt 

Walker, now stationed in Germany with the 

Army, have bought the Damon Theatre on 

Clarksville street from Col. William Damon, 

also of the Army. Mrs. Walker is the former 

Mrs. Harold Curry, who has been operating 

the business for many years. Captain and 

Mrs. Walker announce that the building is 

to be modernized and Elkton given a show 

place up-to-date in all respects. 

BOWLING 

DETROIT—Amusement Supply gained four 

points with a nice assist from Roy Thompson 

to go into second place in the Nightingale 

Club Bowling League: 

Team Won Lost Team Won Lost 

Local 199.... 52

— 

— 

— 

— 

. . Local 

. . Word 

. . Howard 

. . Local 

Record in Tomorrow' 

At Cincinnati Grand 

CINCINNATI — The Grand Theatre 

achieved a record gross with "I'll Cry Tomorrow." 

Admissions were increased to $1.25. 

"Picnic" in its fourth week at Keiths, was 

second high downtown. 

A1bee 

Grand 

Keiths 

Palace 


The Rose Tattoo (Para), 2nd wk 95 

I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM) 225 

Picnic (Col), 4th wk 105 

Forever Darling (MGM) 100 

Second Week of 'Gry' 

Paces Detroit at 225 

DETROIT—The second week of "I'll Cry 

Tomorrow" took honors along the local 

rialto with 225 per cent. Other grosses were 

down somewhat, with "The Conqueror" in 

its second week at the Palms and "The Rose 

Tattoo" in a second week at the Michigan, 

scoring 180 and 175 respectively, for second 

and third place honors. 

Adams— I'll Cry Tomorrow (MGM), 2nd wk 225 

Broadway Capitol Battle Stations (Col); Joe 

Macbeth (Col) 90 

Fox—Carousel (20th-Fox), 3rd wk 100 

Madison Pknic (Col), 2nd wk 1 50 

Michigan The Rose Tattoo (Para); Diane 

(MGM), 2nd wk 1 75 

Palms The Conqueror (RKO); Sudden Danger 

(AA), 2nd wk 180 

•Carousel' Has Healthy 200 

As Storm Hits Cleveland 

CLEVELAND—Bad weekend weather was 

reflected in a drop in boxoffice takes. Snowfall, 

hazardous driving and holdovers in four 

lower grosses. New on 

theatres contributed to 

the marquee was "Carousel," which opened 

big but suffered subsequently from the weather. 

Nevertheless, "Carousel" doubled the 

average at the Allen, where it is in for an extended 

run. "Guys and Dolls" finally closed 

its run after 13 weeks at the Ohio. "I'll Cry 

Tomorrow" held up with 85 per cent in its 

fifth week. "Picnic" held moderately well in 

its fourth and final week at the Hippodrome. 

Allen Carousel (20th-Fox) 200 

Hippodrome Picnic (Col), 4th wk 80 

Lower Mall Adorable Creatures (Cont'l), 2nd wk. . 100 

Ohio Guys and Dolls (MGM), 13th wk 65 

Palace Bottle Stations (Col); Joe Macbeth 

(Col) 90 

State The Rose Tattoo (Para), 3rd wk 70 

Stillman I'll Cry Tomorrow (Para), 

5th holdover wk 85 

John Goshorn, 65, Dies 

MASSILLON, OHIO—John Goshorn, 65, in 

charge of the National Theatre Supply Co. 

seating department, died Monday < 19) in the 

Massillon Hospital of complications following 

minor surgery. Goshorn made his home here. 

Sells Shares in 3 Airers 

TOLEDO—James Demspey has disposed of 

his interest in the Telegraph, Parkside and 

Starlite drive-ins to his associates, Ray 

Searles and his two sons. Ed Searles, one of 

the sons, will manage the theatres. 

Council Sponsors 'Wedding' 

YOUNGSTOWN—The Youngstown Motion 

Picture Council sponsored a showing of "The 

Member of the Wedding" at the Foster Theatre 

here March 21. 22. Part of the proceeds 

from the film were donated to the council for 

Its film welfare work. 

CLEVELAND 

TV>n Jacobs, manager of the Parma, reports 

*~ 

that on Academy Award night practically 

all homes on his route home after closing 

the theatre were lighted. Usually they are 

dark. He interprets this as meaning the residents 

were watching the TV Award program 

.... It will be wedding bells on April 29 for 

Jeanie Burdel, cashier for Imperial Pictures 

the past four years. She is to become the 

bride of John Forys of this city . . . Mrs. 

Martin G. Smith was here for a meeting of 

the Ohio Chapter of the D.A.R. 

Harold Raives, Schine Ohio theatre district 

manager, recently became a grandfather 

when a daughter named Anne Leslie, was 

born to the wife of his son Robert, an 

attorney in Hartford, Conn. , 

Wonder what 

happened to Stella 

. . 

Smetanka, who left Cooperative 

Theatres of Ohio after ten years 

as receptionist and secretary? She is with 

the local Schine office in the same capacity 

. . . Stu Cangney, Jewel, and his wife 

braved a recent storm to visit their daughter 

and four grandchildren in Alden, N. Y. . . . 

Mrs. Marie Hellriegel, mother of Henry 

Hellriegel who specializes in theatre construction 

and remodeling, died after a long 

illness. Another son and three daughters 

also 

survive. 

. 

Bert Schoonmaker, sometime exhibitor and 

most time auto salesman, is getting his Clarke 

Lake, Mich., summer resort ready to open in 

late May . comes from Toledo that 

Mrs. Marvin Harris, wife of the Paramount 

manager, is a hospital patient . . Filmrow 

. 

visitors last week included Peter Wellman, 

Girard; Mike Kendrach, Mingo Junction; 

Steve Vernarsky, Hubbard; Blair Russell, 

Millersburg; Ralph Russell, Canton; George 

Delis, Canton; George Manos, Toronto 

Nate Bigelson is back from Florida to 

. . 

manage 

the driving-range owned by Nate and 

Sam Schultz. 

. 

Marvin Cutler has been appointed assistant 

to Schine's Harold Raives. He succeeds 

"Dick" Dickerson, who has been promoted 

to the home office in Gloversville . . . The 

Jack Shulmans of the local Lexington and 

the Lake, Painesville, took off for a Florida 

vacation Reif of Modern Theatres, 

who commutes between Cleveland and 

Florida during the winter, is here and will 

stay here until he returns to close his winter 

Rhoda Koret, Columbia 

home for the season . . . 

booker, was busy receiving congratu- 

lations for the fine showing she made as a 

TV actress on the On Stage program . . . 

U-I's Dolores "Sis" Smith has returned to 

her desk after a spell of sickness . . . Mary 

Lou Weaver, secretary to Warner Manager 

Bill Twig, was also due to resume her work 

after several weeks of hospitalization. 

Paramount's Leonard Gray reports a big 

turnout for the trade showing of "The Birds 

and the Bees" Tuesday (20) night at the 

State, with favorable audience reaction to the 

comedy situations . . . Leonard Greenberger, 

manager of the Fairmount, guessed right on 

the Academy Awards. He had "Marty" on his 

screen . 160, Motion Picture Operators 

Union, is holding a midnight dinner 

dance in the Hollenden Hotel ballroom on 

April 17. It will be a very special occasion to 

celebrate the retirement of all indebtedness 

on its headquarters building, 1866 East 25th 

St. 

The Academy Awards TV program did not 

seriously hurt local boxoffice takes. However, 

most theatre owners in this area say 

that the Lenten slump has struck in full force 

and it is difficult to determine whether attendance 

dropped Wednesday night (21) because 

of the Awards program or because of 

Lent ... It was unanimously regretted that 

an outside sponsor used time which, in 

exhibitor opinion, could better have been 

used to promote motion pictures instead of 

automobiles . . . Little suspense attended the 

program, inasmuch as "Marty" seemed to be 

favored to win top honors newspapers 

devoted only a minimum amount of 

. 

space to the event. Other than listing the 

winners in the various categories, little or 

nothing was said about the Academy Awards. 

Robert Dodson to Harrodsburg, Ky. 

HARRODSBURG, KY.—Robert L. Dodson 

has accepted the managership of the 

Chakeres-operated Harrod Theatre here, assuming 

his duties early this month. Mrs. 

Dodson and young daughter Sue will join him 

in a few days. Beth, their older daughter, 

will remain in Williamstown, their former 

home, to finish the school term. The Dodsons 

have spent the last eight and one-half 

years in Williamstown, where Bob managed 

the Grant. 

Walter Scharf will direct the music for Allied 

Artists' "Three for Jamie Dawn." 

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— 

. . Mrs. 

CINCINNATI 

. . . Al 

T ouis Wiethe and wife returned from a 

three-week vacation in Florida 

Thalheimer of Logan, W. Va., was on the 

Row the first time in months. With him was 

Harold Moore of Charleston. Thalheimer has 

closed his Martin Theatre in South Charleston 

. . . Eddie Beckman resigned as assistant 

manager at the RKO Albee to join Industrial 

Nuclearics Corp. of Columbus. 

. . . 

William Settos of Springfield had his wife 

along on the rounds of the exchanges 

Joseph Bonn, manager at the Realart office 

in Indianapolis, died March 15 of a heart 

ailment. Bohn had been affiliated with the 

late Lee Goldberg, a cousin, in independent 

distribution for the past 40 years. He is survived 

by his wife Helen, who will continue 

to operate the exchange. 

Ralph Buring, Paramount exploiteer, arranged 

a sneak preview of "The Birds and 

the Bees" last week (20) at Keiths Theatre. 

No doubt the attractive announcements of 

the event, and finally the invitations helped 

the large attendance . . . Arthur Adams resigned 

as West Virginia salesman for MGM 

and is moving to Charleston to engage in a 

different line of business. 

Fred Childress Recovers 

YOUNGSTOWN — After several days' 

absence due to illness and surgery, Fred W. 

Childress is back at the helm of the theatre 

page of the Youngstow'n Vindicator. 

Alvin W. Beam took over during his enforced 

vacation. 

WIDE SCREEN and 

CINEMASCOPE 

Equipment of All Kinds 

MID -WEST THEATRE 

SUPPLY CO., 

1638 Central Parkway 

CINCINNATI 10, 

CHerry 7724 

INC. 

OHIO 

Whatever You Need— 

We Can Supply It. 

Robert Morrell Takes 

Drive-In Critic to Task 

COVINGTON, KY. — Councilwoman Mrs. 

Dorothy N. Dolbey was taken to task recently 

for her outburst against drive-in theatres by 

the operator of one of the biggest drive-ins 

in the area. Mrs. Dolbey told the city planning 

commission such theatres were "out of 

bounds" for her children, that they were 

"terrible" and should not be permitted in 

the city's corporate limits. 

"Had Mrs. Dolbey investigated the facts 

before she allowed herself to be victimized 

by slanderous untruths, she would have found 

the biggest part of drive-in theatre business 

is family business," said Robert Morrell, general 

manager of the Twin Drive-In on Reading 

road. 

Morrell called it a "shame" the legislator in 

a "hasty statement," made in the best of 

faith, "misled the public, seriously damaged 

a decent business, whose chief function is to 

provide clean entertainment for families 

which, for lack of baby-sitters, would be unable 

to enjoy an evening away from home." 

It would be suicidal for drive-ins to allow 

"improprieties to go on." To this end, lest 

some young folks get the wrong impression, 

Twin-Drive-In is constantly patrolled to disabuse 

wrong ideas and protect the safety of 

patrons and children, he said. 

Morrell concluded that "Our patrons and 

the parents of young folks who use driveins 

are our best boosters." 

Sam Levin Appeals Ban 

On Fairfax, Ohio, Airer 

CINCINNATI—Sam Levin, drive-in owner 

of Dayton, has asked the court of appeals 

of Fairfax, Ohio, to declare an ordinance enacted 

by the village forbidding the performance 

of any show or theatrical performance 

in any building, structure or amphitheatre or 

open area which has a greater capacity than 

250 persons, to be unconstitutional, and to 

force the village to issue him a building permit. 

Levin charged that the ordinance was 

enacted solely to keep him from building a 

drive-in in the village. Attorney William T. 

Sheffield said Levin had contracted to purchase 

the land for $62,500 and paid $20,000 

down. The proposed project would cost an 

additional $150,000, he said. Hearing on the 

suit was set for May 1. 

Harlan Klyce Is Manager 

At Central City, Ky. 

CENTRAL CITY, KY.—Harlan Klyce has 

succeeded W. H. Luttrell as manager of the 

local Rockwood Amusement Co. theatres 

the State and the 62 Drive-In. He and his 

wife and two sons have moved into the 

home of Wayne Batsel on the Drakesboro 

road. 

Klyce came here from Providence where 

he managed a theatre for the firm. A native 

of Alamo, Tenn., he has been with the theatre 

firm five years. He is a veteran of the 

Korean War. Mr. and Mrs. Luttrell have 

moved to Rockwood, Tenn. 

James Doss Pleads Innocent 

TOLEDO—James Doss, 35, concession manager 

for the Berlo Vending Co. at the Miracle 

Mile Drive-In, who is charged with embezzlement, 

pleaded innocent and waived preliminary 

hearing. 

COLUMBUS 

"The first three months of 1956 have seen 

more holdovers in downtown first runs 

and art houses than in any comparable period 

in the last several seasons. "The Benny Goodman 

Story" went into a second week at the 

Grand after a big first week at the Palace. 

"The Rose Tattoo" was held for a second 

week at Loew's Broad. "The Trouble With 

Harry" had a fifth week at the art World 

and "Mile. Gobette" started a second week 

at the art Bexley. A four-week run was recorded 

earlier by "Guys and Dolls," three 

weeks for "I'll Cry Tomorrow" and two weeks 

for "The Conqueror," "The Man With the 

Golden Arm," "Picnic," "The Indian Fighter," 

"The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell," "The 

Rains of Ranchipur" and "Helen of Troy." 

"Forever Darling" ran ten days. In the art 

theatres, "The African Lion" at the World 

and "The Bed" at the Bexley were each held 

for five weeks. Most other attractions played 

a minimum of two weeks in the art houses. 

Hassam Yakteen, student assistant manager 

of Loew's Broad, has been promoted to 

assistant manager . Mary McGavran 

Koebel, former theatre editor of the Ohio 

State Journal, became the mother of a 

daughter, Mary Virginia, March 11. 

Mike Lane, the former wrestler turned actor 

who plays the prizefighter role in Columbia's 

"The Harder They Fall" which stars Humphrey 

Bogart, was in town for press, radio 

and television interviews . . . Manager Walter 

Kessler of Loew's Ohio cashed in on the 

Academy Awards by a dual booking of 

"Marty" and "Summertime." 

TOLEDO 

Dallet Theatre was presented by Flora Ward 

Hineline in the Paramount here for a onenighter 

Tuesday (20) ... An attempt by the 

Jesse James Drive-In to open in mid-March 

was stymied by an unexpected snowstorm, 

but the drive-in was opened the next weekend 

(28). The Miracle Mile Drive-In was 

open all winter, with in-car heaters. 

Ted Levy Is BV Manager 

CLEVELAND—Ted Levy, who recently took 

over as Buena Vista district manager, has 

been affiliated with distribution of motion 

pictures long enough to have earned the title 

of "veteran." He is a native of Chicago and 

has spent most of his business career in the 

midwest. Before joining Buena Vista as sales 

manager in Detroit, he was with Universal in 

Detroit in a sales capacity. Levy succeeded 

Leo Greenfield at the Buena Vista office. 

Greenfield was promoted to the home office. 

YOU'RE ASSURED OF 

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. . When 

. . Three 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Bay Stater Building 

Large Jersey Airer 

BOSTON — Nicholas Zeo, Springfield attorney 

whose first outdoor theatre was the 

Parkway in Wilbraham, is building a 1,900,- 

car drive-in in West Depford, N. J., to be 

ready for a July opening. The 30-acre site 

is on Route 130 across the Delaware River 

from Philadelphia. There is a possibility, 

with mild weather, that it will be operated 

on a 52-week basis. The engineer is Louis 

Voana of Worcester. Zeo is also in the final 

stage of preparation for an outdoor theatre 

to be built in Brooklyn. N. Y. 

His Parkway Theatre, which opened in 

1948. has grown constantly until today it has 

a 1.400-car capacity. Originally, it was built to 

accommodate 750 cars, Zeo said. "The success 

of the drive-in is based on the fact that we 

are interested in having youngsters coming 

to the shows. We want the whole family to 

pile into the car to see the movie. Our operation 

is geared that way and it's highly successful." 

With Peter Marrone, Zeo also operates the 

Edgemore Drive-In, Sturbridge, Mass., although 

Marrone is the active partner in this 

deal. 

John O'Connell, 79, Dies; 

Stagehand for 58 Years 

NEW HAVEN—John O'Connell, a stagehand 

for 58 years, died in New Haven Hospital 

after a brief illness Thursday (22). He 

was 79 years old. O'Connell spent the major 

part of his theatrical career as a relief stagehand. 

He held regular employment as a 

salesman at a downtown department store 

for 50 years. 

Starting as a stagehand in 1897, O'Connell 

worked most of the downtown theatres. He 

retired only last year after serving as summer 

relief stage hand at Loew's College. He was 

one of the charter members of IATSE Local 

74. He had served as president and secretary 

of the local and was also secretary of the 

Connecticut State Theatre Ass'n, made up of 

all the IATSE locals in Connecticut. 

O'Connell held a gold lifetime membership 

card in the IATSE. He was one of three 

brothers with long careers as stagehands in 

this city. His brother Frank is employed as 

a stagehand at Loew's Poli. Another brother 

William, who worked at Loew's College, died 

four years ago. In addition to his brother 

Prank, O'Connell leaves a son, a daughter 

and a sister. 

Berlin, Conn., Rezones Area 

Where LeWitt Asks Airer 

BERLIN, CONN.—The zoning 

commission 

here has rezoned about 39 acres of land at 

the intersection of Route 5 and Deming road, 

thus removing one of the stumbling blocks to 

George LeWitt's long-projected plans to build 

a drive-in on the site. 

The property was rezoned from farm to 

business and the rezoning cleared the way 

for LeWitt to apply for a permit for a drivein 

theatre. Residential opposition, presented 

verbally before zoning commission sessions in 

the past, has been directed against the LeWitt 

project. 

HARTFORD 

/"•uys and Dolls" is now embarking on playdates 

in the smaller cities, such as New 

London. In the latter community, American 

Theatres Corp. booked the MGM release into 

the first run Capitol at $1.25 adults, 50 cents 

for children . 

Sperie Perakos reopened 

the Plainville Drive-in, his newspaper 

ads stressed "well-paved ramps—no 

mud, no holes." 

Charles Martin, on the Rialto staff back in 

the days when the house was under the Warner 

Bros, banner, has joined the Strand as 

assistant. He replaces Bob McCarthy, resigned. 

The Hamilton, Waterbury, played 

an all-Kim Novak bill, consisting of "Pushover" 

and "Five Against the House." 

Bill Howard of the Lockwood & Gordon 

Plaza, Windsor, has arranged with the Roger 

Wolcott Parent-Teacher Council to sponsor 

a series of four Saturday matinees, starting 

April 14. Series tickets will be sold at the 

school for $1 by the PTA . regional 

Stanley Warner house showed "The Miracle 

of Fatima" for benefit causes. The Capitol, 

Ansonia, screened the film March 21 under 

sponsorship of the Naugatuck Valley District 

Catholic Youth Organization at 75 cents top. 

The film was shown at the Palace and Empress, 

Danbury, under sponsorship of the 

Brookfield Catholic Men's Club. 

PROVIDENCE 

phil Nemirow, RKO Albee manager, is offering 

a special Easter gift to his patrons. 

With every purchase of a $5 or $10 book of 

tickets, he is giving a sterling silver table 

cigaret lighter, an item promoted from the 

Michaels-Bauer Jewelry Co., and valued at $6 

retail. On top of this, the book of tickets gives 

purchasers a 10 per cent saving on their 

Albee admissions. An attractive display in 

the windows of the boxoffice at the Albee 

highlights the exploitation. 

. . . "Picnic" 

Thomas Tear, formerly student assistant 

manager at Loew's Orpheum, Boston, has 

been transferred to the same post in Loew's 

State here. He replaces Diedrick Uges, who has 

moved to Loew's State, Boston 

the State . . . 

was held for a third week at 

Ethel Waters, star of stage, screen, radio and 

television, made her first Rhode Island personal 

appearance at the Celebrity Club. Her 

four-day engagement was liberally patronized. 

The Rhode Island premiere of "Devil in the 

Flesh" took place in the Avon Cinema. Adhering 

to its policy of straight-forward and 

honest advertising, the Avon management 

stressed the fact that this film was strictly 

for adult patronage ... It was announced 

that the Avon would soon bring back "Marty" 

for a return engagement. When the Academy 

Award winner first played at the Avon, it 

set a record for the longest consecutive run 

for any Providence house ... In by far the 

most extensive cooperative exploitation ever 

attempted in this area. 15 surrounding suburbans, 

neighborhoods and drive-ins "premiered" 

the first "Providence-vicinity" showing of 

"Wiretapper." "Please Murder Me" was the 

co-attraction. Houses in Providence. Cranston. 

East Providence. Woonsocket. Pawtucket, 

Smithfield, Centerdale. Seekonk and 

Wakefield shared in the huge promotion. 

Providence Grosses 

Kayoed by Blizzards 

PROVIDENCE—Severe blizzards delivered 

kayo punches to theatres throughout 

the state. Most downtown first runs were 

off to good weeks when the first storm hit. 

The only first run reporting good business was 

the Avon Cinema, where "Devil in the Flesh" 

got off to such a tremendous start that the 

storms failed to pull boxoffice figures belowaverage. 

(Averoge Is 100) 

Albee—Slightly Scorlet (RKO) 70 

Avon Devil in the Flesh (IFE) 100 

Loew's Picnic (Col), 3rd wk 95 

Majestic Come Next Spring (Rep) 75 

Strand The Court Jester (Para) 80 

Storms Hurt New Haven; 

'Goodbye' Scores 140 

NEW HAVEN—Two blizzards in four days 

were felt at the ticket windows, but "Never 

Say Goodbye" managed to come through the 

storms with receipts 40 per cent above 

normal. "Picnic" had a good second week. 

College Texas Lady (RKO); Champions Reward 

(Hub) 75 

Paramount Guvs and Dolls (MGM), 3rd wk 50 

Poli Picnic (Col), 2nd wk '00 

Roaer Sherman Never Say Goodbye (U-l); Top 

Gun (UA) 140 

Good Boston Grosses 

Halted by Storms 

BOSTON—The twin blizzards brought 

grosses down to a new low for this disastrous 

week, with the neighborhoods suffering more 

than the downtown first runs. No damage 

was reported to theatres. All first runs remained 

open during both storms, although 

business was off nearly one-quarter of its 

normal attendance. 

Astor I'll Crv Tomorrow (MGM), 2nd wk 80 

Beacon Hill Diabolique (UMPO), 4th wk 60 

Boston Cinerama Holiday (SW), 29fh wk 55 

Exeter Street Doctor at Sea (Rep), 2nd wk 65 

Kenmore The Night My Number Come Up 

(Cont'l), 2nd wk 65 

Memorial Carousel (20th-Fox), 4th wk 60 

Metropolitan Come Next Spring (Rep); Fighting 

Chance (Rep) 70 

Orpheum Picnic (Col), 4th wk 60 

Paramount and Fenwav Our Miss Brooks (WB); 

The Steel Jungle (WB) 60 

State Three Bad Sisters (UA), Timetable (UA).. 50 

Snowstorms Cause Drops 

In Hartford First Runs 

HARTFORD—Snowstorms continued to 

hurt trade, both in the downtown and 

suburban sections, and theatremen looked 

forward with anticipation to April and the 

promise of better weather. Despite the 

downward trend, holdovers continued, and 

several newcomers stirred up some promising 

recipts. 

Allvn Never Sov Goodbye (U-l); When Gonglond 

Strikes RepV 2nd wk HO 

Art Doctor at Sco (Rep) 90 

E M. Loew Picnic (Col). 3rd wk 12 

Palace Marty (UA); Apache (UA), reissue... 115 

Parsons Love Me or leave Me (MGM); Bad Day 

ot Black Rock (MGM). reissue °5 

Poll 1'|| Cry Tomorrow (MGM). 3rd wk 130 

Strand The Man With the Golden Arm (UA), 

2nd wk "0 

Allen Widem Sees Awards 

editor 

of the Hartford Times, has returned from 

his annual week's stay in Los Angeles, during 

which he attended the Academy Awards 

presentation at the Pantages Theatre 

HARTFORD—Allen M. Widem, film 

Producer Richard Heermance has signed 

Albert Band to pilot "Young Guns" for Allied 

Artists. 

BOXOFFICE March 31. 1956 NE 81

BOSTON 

\ZT Leslie Bendslev, owner and operator of 

the Community Playhouse, Wellesley 

Hills, Mass., ten years ago was one of the 

founders of the Wellesley Boosters Club, an 

organization to aid the Wellesley scholarship 

fund and the High School's Athletic Fund. 

Last year, this organization helped 16 students 

in their college careers, besides supporting the 

high school's athletic teams. As a director 

and past president of the Boosters Club, 

Bendslev was instrumental in holding the 

monthly meetings in the office of his theatre. 

Last week, in a special tribute for his 

civic endeavors, the Boosters Club gave 

Bendslev a handsome, inscribed leather desk 

set. 

The engagement has been announced of 

Mary Goodman of the clerical department 

of Smith Management Co. to Arthur L. Pearlstein 

of Brookline. No date has been set 

for the wedding, but it is expected that she 

will return to her desk after the ceremony 

and honeymoon trip . . James Sheerin, 

. 

owner of the Pinehurst Drive-In, Billerica, is 

a patient at the Veterans Hospital, as is 

Marcel Meikleberg, former distributor. 

Ernest Warren, owner of the Paramount 

in Needham. became a grandfather for the 

first time when his daughter Barbara (Mrs. 

Morris R. Nelson jr.) gave birth to twin 

daughters at Columbia Hospital. Washington, 

named Lisa Irene and Lynn Anne Nelson . . . 

A petition by Raymond J. Lord, assistant to 

Otis M. Whitney, public safety commissioner, 

which proposed that theatres be required to 

pay a yearly fe« of $50 for operating on 

Sundays, has been killed in committee and 

has been thrown out of this year's legislative 

session. This bill was aired at a public hearing 

recently when Frank C. Lydon, Allied 

Theatres of New England, and Carl Goldman, 

Independent Exhibitors of New England, the 

latter the local unit of National Allied, appeared 

in opposition to it. 

George Swartz, an insurance man for 20 

years and one of the originators of the Jimmy 

Fund cancer research program and other 

charities, has announced the formation of a 

new general insurance agency with Thomas 

A. Kelley and Richard F. Koyle. Offices are 

at 164 Newbury St. A former director of the 

March of Dimes, Swartz was founder of the 

$100-a-plate donors dinner for the March of 

Dimes and is president of the Suffolk County 

Chapter of the National Foundation for 

Infantile Paralysis. He has worked closely 

with the motion picture industry in these 

charities. 

While visiting in Boston, Mel Safner of 

Providence, R. I., was stricken with a severe 

attack of virus and was put to bed at 

his sister's Brookline home to recover. Safner, 

the first vice-president of Independent Exhibitors, 

operates the Lafayette and Bellevue 

theatres, Central Falls, R. I., and the 

IMAGE & SOUND SERVICE CORP. 

"The Best Value In Sound Service" 

Hancock 6-7984 445 Statler Building 

Boston, Massachusetts 

Route 44 Drive-In, Smithfield, Mass. . . . 

Richard E. Smith, vice-president of Smith 

Management Co., and his wife are parents 

of a baby son, James Andrew, born at 

Beth Israel Hospital March 12. 

Redstone Drive-in Theatres has completed 

its move into larger quarters on the seventh 

floor of the Metropolitan building ... A new 

manager, Larry Japson from the Pacific 

Drive-In Theatres, has been placed at the 

Sunrise Drive-In, Valley Stream, L. I. 

VERMONT 

pight boys have been apprehended for arraignment 

in juvenile court in connection 

with vandalism at the Sunset Drive-In 

in Colchester and a camp at Malletts Bay. 

Damage estimated at $2,000 was done to the 

theatre, where 75 speakers, 18 floodlights, 

merchandise and concession equipment were 

smashed. 

Vincent Choate, executive secretary of the 

Springfield Chamber of Commerce, has ended 

a 30-year career in show business by giving 

up his financial interest in the Shea Theatre 

in Turner Falls, Mass. During his theatrical 

experiences, he worked with such celebrities 

as Ethel Barrymore, George M. Cohan, Alexander 

Woolcott, Tallulah Bankhead and 

Boris Karloff . . . The Strong Theatre in 

Burlington had a two-day holdover of "Picnic" 

after numerous requests for the run. 

"It is our personal opinion," the management 

said, "that this is the most entertaining 

picture we have shown in recent years." 

Ronald Reagan, film and television star, 

stoutly defended Hollywood with respect to 

religion, divorces and Communism, in a talk 

at a luncheon sponsored by the Chamber of 

Commerce at the Hotel Vermont in Burlington. 

The actor, whose weekly TV program 

is sponsored by the General Electric Co., 

visited the GE plant in Burlington and also 

gave a brief talk before the South Burlington 

Parent-Teacher Council. 

Burlington theatre managers reported 

mixed reactions to the first Sunday afternoon 

movies shown in Vermont's largest city 

after recent approval by local voters. Rayden 

Cody, manager of the Strong Theatre, said 

attendance was steady all afternoon, with 

mostly family groups, and the State management 

reported the house was not crowded. 

Ralph Gilbert, manager of the Flynn Theatre, 

expressed the belief that it was too soon 

for moviegoers to "catch on to the idea" of 

films being shown Sunday afternoons. 

Vermont's exhibitors have been encouraged 

by a report by the Vermont Development 

Commission to the effect that summer vacationists 

are spending more time and money 

The report was based 

in this state each year. 

on questionnaires sent out to tourists who 

visited the area last summer. 

Jack W. Gordon Stricken; 

Headed Hartford Firm 

HARTFORD—Jack W. Gordon, 63, owner 

and general manager of Gordon's Entertainment 

Bureau here, died Sunday (18) at 

Roosevelt Hospital in New York. 

Gordon played in night clubs and theatres 

as a magician prior to becoming a motion 

picture script writer. He left the stage in 

1928 to open booking offices here. 



PLANNTNG RESTITUTE 



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Seating 

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Coin Machines 

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D Complete Remodeling Sound Equipment 

Decorating 

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82 

BOXOFFICE 

: 

: March 

31, 1956

Ontario Subsidiary 

Formed by Odeon 

From Canadian Edition 

TORONTO—Odeon Theatres of Canada has 

established an Ontario subsidiary chain of 

27 theatres to be known as Regional Theatre 

Circuit, according to Odeon President Leonard 

W. Brockington. 

Formation of the subsidiary circuit followed 

Odeon's acquisition of 17 units from 

Sam Fingold's National Theatre Services. 

These 17 houses will be combined with ten 

other theatres, mostly in smaller towns and 

cities, which have been Odeon-operated. 

Ralph Dale, former executive with Fingold 

in National Theatre Services, will be general 

manager of the new circuit. 

Dale at one time was a head office official 

for Famous Players Canadian. Later, he 

joined Odeon, then Fingold, who was in partnership 

with Odeon for a number of years 

until he went independent. Fingold still has 

six small-town theatres in Ontario, but has 

intimated that he plans to dispose of them. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 

n 

benefit show was scheduled at the Tilton 

Theatre in Tilton April 4, 5 to raise 

money for the purchase of children's books 

for the Hall Memorial Library. The afternoon 

and evening showings of "It's Always 

Fair Weather" were sponsored by the literature 

and fine arts department of the Tilton- 

Northfield Women's Club. 

. . . 

Nearly 1,000 women attended the Manchester 

showing of the American Cancer 

Society's educational film, "Breast Self-Examination," 

at the State Theatre. The New 

Hampshire Cancer Society sponsored the program 

and also had other showings in Portsmouth 

and Exeter The voters in Lebanon 

have approved enforcement in that 

community of the state curfew law, which 

is more than 40 years old. The statute provides 

that children must be off the streets 

by 9 p. m., but Police Chief Clarence Wright 

said his department would give the youngsters 

an extra half-hour to return from motion 

picture shows and youth meetings. 

Two chartered busses took members of the 

Deerfield Fair Ass'n to Boston on a recent 

Sunday to see the motion picture, "Cinerama 

Holiday," at the Boston Theatre. A 

number of the Deerfield folk took part in the 

filming of the Louis DeRochemont production 

at Deerfield fair last year. 

Cinemascope is now being shown at the 

Variety, Manchester's lowest priced theatre, 

without any increase in admission charges, 

which are 15 and 25 cents ... In a report 

to the superior court in Keene, Leonard C. 

Harwick of Rochester, master in a tax appeal 

of D. Latchis, operator of theatres in 

the area, has recommended a 30 per cent reduction 

in the 1951 assessment by the city of 

Keene against Latchis property. The report 

favored appraisal of the Latchis Theatres 

block at $105,220, instead of $124,650, and appraisal 

of the Colonial Theatre block, owned 

by the same company, at $87,733, instead of 

$103,730. 

NEW HAVEN 

XJarry Goldstein, formerly a manager for 

M&P in Boston and now a field man for 

AA, has been working with Paramount Manager 

Jim Darby on "Invasion of the Body 

Snatchers" and "The Indestructible Man." 

Harry is a brother of Maury "Razz" Goldstein 

. . . Loew's College, which booked a revival 

of "Marty" many weeks ago in the 

belief that Ernest Borgnine would bring 

home the bacon, got many good newspaper 

breaks. Borgnine is a former New Havener. 

The SW Roger Sherman scheduled "Mister 

Roberts" and "Rebel Without a Cause" as its 

"bet" on the outcome of the Academy Awards 

. . . Many neighborhood situations were playing 

"The Rose Tattoo." with best actress 

winner Anna Magnani, Academy Awards 

week. Henry Cohan, manager of the Dixwell 

Playhouse, Hamden, had a problem. He 

solved it by devoting most of the marquee 

to Miss Magnani, but reserving one panel 

for a salute to "neighborhood boy" Borgnine, 

whose family lives a few blocks away. 

Officials of the People's Candy Co. accompanied 

Harry Shaw, division manager for 

Loew's Poli, on an inspection of refreshment 

facilities at the Poli theatres in this city and 

Hartford, each seating 3,000-plus. Auxiliary 

candy stands will be constructed in both 

houses. In addition, it was decided to install 

a 12-drink machine in Loew's College here, 

replacing a six-drink model. 

Several exchange salesmen went to Niantic 

for a dinner honoring Sam Cornish, one of 

three owners of the Niantic Theatre, who 

is retiring after a long career of showmanship. 

Once a salesman for U-I in Minnesota. 

Cornish later had a theatre in Harrison, N. Y., 

before launching the Niantic. He and his 

wife will take a cruise before "settling down." 

The Center Drive-in, Derby, virtually wiped 

out in the floods last year, is now almost 

completely reconstructed. A mid-April opening 

is hoped for, but this will depend on the 

progress of an Army crew deepening the 

Naugatuck River at a point adjoining the 

Center. The ozoner was rebuilt with the 

assistance of a $70,000 disaster loan from 

the Small Business Administration. 

in 

Peggy Knudsen will play a supporting role 

Universal's "Istanbul." 

Manager Shifts Are Made 

By Loew's Poli-NE Chain 

NEW HAVEN—Several shifts in managerial 

personnel have been made by Harry Shaw, 

division manager for Loew's Poli. The 

changes were necessitated by the resignation 

of Al Lessow, assistant manager at the Poli 

in Bridgeport. Lessow, with the circuit 12 

years, is entering another field. 

Al Domian, who has been acting assistant 

at Loew's College, New Haven, will take over 

Lessow's duties as acting assistant manager. 

Domian is normally manager of Loew's 

Globe. Bridgeport, which has been closed 

since the spring of 1955. 

Kenneth Byers, student assistant at the 

Poli in New Haven, will go to the College as 

acting assistant manager. 

Offer Cut-Price Parking 

HARTFORD—Lou Cohen of the Poli, and 

Fred R. Greenway of the Palace, Loew's Poli 

houses, have arranged with management of 

a huge parking facility on a nearby block to 

provide reduced parking rates, both afternoon 

and evening, to theatre patrons. The 

service is being promoted via trailers, lobby 

displays and newspaper advertising and 

publicity. 

HANDY SUBSCRIPTION 

New Manager in Braintree 

BRAINTREE, MASS.—Albert Desautels of 

Weymouth, formerly of Holyoke, has been 

named new manager of the Quintree Drive-In 

Theatre here. Desautels was manager of the 

Majestic Theatre in Holyoke for 35 years 

and also was associated with the Rifkin Corp.. 

managing the Suffolk Theatre. He is a native 

of Holyoke. 

David Buttolph has been signed to compose 

and conduct the score for Warners' 

"Santiago." 

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Starring with Burt Lancaster and Kirk 

Douglas in Paramount's "Gunfight at the 

OK Corral" will be Jo Van Fleet.

EDWIN J. THOMAS Portrait by, Fabian Bachrach 

. . . added over 20,000 employees 

to The Payroll Savings Plan." 

"The Savings Bond Program—like any other program in 

a corporation— will succeed only if it has the complete 

support of top management. Recently the Goodyear 

Tire & Rubber Company added over 20,000 employees 

to the Payroll Savings Plan, attaining an overall participation 

of over 71%. While the drive itself was successful 

I feel the job is onlv half done. Now we are 

installing a program to maintain this high peak of participation. 

Such a program will constantly keep the 

merits of the program before each employee, encouraging 

him to provide his own security through this 

effortless plan of saving." 

EDWIN J. THOMAS, President 

ThmGoodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Inc. 

What is the percentage of employee participation in 

your Payroll Savings Plan? If it is less than 50%, get in 

touch with Savings Bond Division, U.S. Treasury Department, 

Washington, D. C. Your State Sales Director 

will be glad to help you increase your participation to 

60% or higher. A phone call, telegram or letter to 

Savings Bond Division, U.S. Treasury Department will 

bring a prompt response. 

The United States Government does not pay for this advertising. The Treasury Department 

thanks, jor their patriotic donation, the Advertising Council and 

BOXOFFICE 


Fall Trade Sessions 

Will Open on Nov. 19 

TORONTO—Arch H. Jolley has announced 

the schedule of dates for the annual trade 

association meetings this year. The series 

of conventions will start November 19 and 

wind up with the Canadian championship 

Gray cup football game on the 24th. 

All industry conventions and functions will 

be concentrated this time in the King Edward 

Hotel. The concluding feature will be the 

annual awards banquet of the Canadian Picture 

Pioneers. The business sessions have 

been arranged as follows: 

Monday, November 19—Motion Picture Theatres 

Ass'n of Ontario, annual meeting and 

luncheon. 

Tuesday, 20—National Committee of Motion 

Picture Exhibitors Ass'ns of Canada. 

Wednesday and Thursday, 21, 22—Motion 

Picture Industry Council of Canada. 

Toronto Tent 28 of Variety is planning to 

hold its monthly luncheon for November in 

the King Edward on either November 20 or 

22, while the Canadian Picture Pioneers has 

definitely booked the Crystal ballroom for 

the night of the 22nd for its awards dinner. 

The Canadian Motion Picture Distributors 

Ass'n will be host to convention delegates at 

a luncheon, probably at noon on the 21st. 

Canadians at CinemaScope 55 

Previews 

50,000 Ballots Are Cast 

In Ottawa Oscar Derby 

OTTAWA—A total of more than 50,000 ballots 

was cast in the recent "Name the Oscars 

Winners" contest here, and 13 correct entries 

were found. The Ottawa Theatre Managers 

Ass'n, of which Manager Don Watts of the 

Rideau is president and Frank Gallop of 

the Centre is vice-president, said that the 

tie would be broken in a quiz contest conducted 

on the stage of the Odeon Theatre, 

managed by Jim Chalmers. 

First prize is a free trip to Hollywood for 

two persons, and there are 21 other prizes. 

The ballots were scanned by three judges, 

City Controller Paul Tardif, George Gowling 

of radio station CFRA and Bruce Walker of 

the Walker Bread Co. 

At Peterborough, three participants were 

tied for first place in a similar Oscar contest 

and a drawing for the home freezer was 

held in the office of Manager George 

Shepherd of the Odeon. Witnesses included 

Art Cauley of the Paramount, John Giroux 

of the Capitol and James Fox of the Centre. 

No less than 12 contestants tied for fourth 

place. 

Toronto Tivoli to Open 

In April With Todd-AO 

TORONTO—The Famous Players Tivoli 

downtown, closed since last May 28 for the 

installation of Todd-AO equipment, will reopen 

around April 14 with the Canadian premiere 

of "Oklahoma!" Manager Fred Trebilcock 

said equipment worth $48,000 is being 

installed, including special projectors, amplifiers 

and a screen measuring 50x27 feet. 

Further seats at the front of the house are to 

be removed, reducing the capacity from the 

original 1,436 to approximately 1,000. Since 

the house was closed last spring for modernization, 

new tiers had been constructed which 

had cut capacity. The Tivoli will reopen with 

a roadshow policy, two performances daily 

and three on Saturdays, all seats reserved. 

Exhibitors in Alberta and Manitoba were invited to demonstrations by 20th- 

Fox of its CinemaScope 55 process at the Capitol Theatre in Calgary and the 

Capitol in Winnipeg. Top, left to right, shows a group at Winnipeg: W. Novak, 

Capitol Theatre; E. Newman, Metropolitan; C. Krupp, Alliance Films; H. Bishop, FPC 

division manager; W. McGregor, Audio, Gladstone, Man.; George Dowbiggin, FPC 

booker; H. Hurwitz, Odeon Morton, supervisor, and P. S. Myers, 20th-Fox executive. 

The little girl is the daughter of Garnet Wright of Keewatin, Ont. 

Bottom photo: Ralph Mitcheltree, Capitol Theatre; Norman Hoffman, Tivoli; 

Hector Ross, Prairie Allied Booking Service, aU of Calgary; George Smith, Bow, 

Bowness, Alta.; Paul Cardell, FPC; A. W. Shackleford, Paramount, Lethbridge; 

Bob Cringan, 20th-Fox; Joe Feldman, Sunset Drive-in, Calgary; S. Slutker, Plaza; 

J. Brager, Plaza; R. Chown, Strand, and P. S. Myers again. 

NFB Employes Start Move 

To New Montreal Office 

MONTREAL—The National Film Board 

trek from Ottawa to Montreal has started. 

Some 380 NFB employes will be transplanted 

by June 1 and NFB is footing the bill, even 

to the cost of baby sitters, while parents look 

for living accommodations. 

Between 30 and 40 employes resigned rather 

than move here, but most of the resignations 

came from married women and other personnel 

who could not or did not want to leave 

Ottawa. 

The move to the $5,100,000 NFB headquarters 

in suburban Ville St. Laurent will be 

followed this summer by demolition of the 

film board's ancient brick studio headquarters 

on Ottawa's Success street. Some 40 staff 

members will remain in Ottawa in a newdowntown 

office building. 

The film board had 451 employes in Ottawa 

and will have an initial 410 here. Estimates 

for 1956-57 of NFB contain an item for removal 

expenses totaling $292,500. There was 

a similar item for $168,090 in the 1955-56 

fiscal year, ending March 31. The board Is 

paying for shipment of household goods from 

Ottawa to Montreal plus living expenses of 

up to a maximum of 21 days. A single employe 

will be allowed ten days to find accommodations. 

The board also will pay the cost of disconnecting 

stoves and telephones and connecting 

them in Montreal. NFB employes will 

receive train fare, or if they drive to Montreal, 

will be subsidized at seven cents per 

mile plus four cents for every dependent. 

BOXOFFICE : 

: March 

31, 1956 85

— 

— 

— 

— 

'Carousel' Overcomes 

Church Ritual Losses 

TORONTO—For many people the theatres 

were "out of bounds" as they observed Holy 

Week rituals. Grosses were off practically 

all along the line, the exception being 

"Carousel" at the Imperial. 


Eglington, University The Rose Tottoo (Para), 

4th wk 1 05 

Hyland The Snows of Kilimanjaro (20th-Fox). . . .105 

Imperial Carousel (20th-Fox) 140 

Loews The Last Hunt (MGM) 1 00 

Norrown The Bottom of the Bottle (20th-Fox) . . 1 00 

Odeon Three Stripes in the Sun (Col) 105 

Shea's Picnic (Col), 6th wk 1 00 

Towne The Happy Time (Col) 1 00 

Uptown The Benny Goodman Story (U-l), 3rd 

wk 100 

HELPING THE CONTEST—The facade of 

the Bijou, closed theatre in Winnipeg, 

was devoted to the Name the Oscar Winners contest. The theatre, situated next to 

the city hall on Main street, is a part of the pool managed by Robert Hurwitz. 

$250,000 Showplace 

In Medicine Hat, Alia. 

MEDICINE HAT, ALTA. — The $250,000, 

860-seat Towne Theatre, opened here recently, 

is a tribute to the vision and enterprise of 

Adolph Dederer, former grocer, farmer, grain 

mill operator, exhibitor, and in later years 

home and commercial builder. 

Dederer constructed the Astra Theatre here 

in 1942, at that time this city's fourth motion 

picture house, despite predictions by some 

local people that the venture would go broke 

in two years. The Astra prospered from the 

start. In 1948, he sold it to his daughter 

Clara (Mrs. Hardy Deimert) and a son John. 

In constructing the Towne, Dederer figured 

Medicine Hat's growth not only justifies the 

addition of the de luxe entertainment place, 

but requires it. The 100x62-foot auditorium, 

with concave sloping floor and curved sides, 

has 510 seats. An additional 350 seats are 

in the wide curving balcony. Patrons will be 

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. . The 

Gunmen Bind Six People 

In Rio Robbery Attempt 

TORONTO—Two gunmen, who apparently 

hid overnight in the theatre, bound up six 

people at the 500-seat Rio early March 22, but 

failed to open the safe which contained 

receipts of the previous day, then fled through 

a rear exit door. 

The first to be seized was janitor Walter 

Zoners. Grabbed in succession were Robert 

Hughes, doorman; Millie Green, candy 

counter girl; Mrs. Evelyn McKenzie, cashier, 

and finally two early customers. They were 

found inside the theatre by Norman Dubig, 

projectionist, when he arrived on the scene. 

By that time the thugs had vanished. 

It was the second time in a month that 

Mrs. McKenzie had experienced a holdup. 

On the previous occasion, a crook demanded 

that she hand over the cash at the boxoffiee 

wicket, but he fled when she raised an alarm. 

The Circle on upper Yonge street, a unit 

of 20th Century Theatres, also had a burglary 

when only $10 in cash was taken. Police arrested 

three youths, including a 15-year-old 

usher of the theatre who, they claim, left a 

window unlocked to facilitate entry by the 

trio after the late show. 

VANCOUVER 

. 

Oeven films were added to the adult entertainment 

lists by the British Columbia 

Ross Beesley, Associated Screen 

censors . . . 

News cameraman here, went south on vacation, 

including Las Vegas . Max Garfin, 

former Alberta showman, is 

. . 

now a partner 

in the Ambassador Hotel here . . . Harry 

Woolfe, UA manager, and Nat Levant, manager 

at Columbia, returned from New York 

and Chicago conventions Eaves, 

western district manager for Famous Players, 

was in from Toronto for eight days conferring 

with Maynard Joiner. He said FPC 

will play "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel" here 

shortly. 

Alberta interests will build a new 800-seat 

theatre in Penticton . Gem Theatre 

at Sidney on Vancouver Island has been 

closed. High film rentals, TV competition and 

loss of patronage were blamed by Marjorie 

Hartman . . . The Starlite Drive-In at Genelle 

near Trail and the Alberni Drive-in at 

Port Alberni on Vancouver Island will not 

operate this year. These makes seven ozoners 

which will remain dark this season in the 

province. 

The Rainbow Theatre, a 225-seater, was 

destroyed along with an entire block in the 

farming town of Simmie, Sask. . . . Earl 

Hayter, Odeon theatres supervisor, became a 

grandfather when a child was born to his 

daughter, Mrs. Pat Lane. The father is a 

sound engineer for Perkins Electric . . . Most 

drive-ins in this area opened last weekend. 

A 62-year-old doorman, James Bawn of the 

Odeon Vogue, who came to the aid of a policeman 

struggling with a mental patient 

outside the theatre will be recompensed with 

$33 by the police commission to replace spectacles 

broken in the fight. The city police 

also extended Bawn a vote of thanks . 

Jack Mahon. manager of the Orpheum at 

Prince Albert, Sask., keeps his patrons informed 

about forthcoming pictures by culling 

items from trade magazines and newspapers, 

and attaching them to a board in the lobby. 

MONTREAL 

r\ominion Sound district managers from 

coast-to-coast attended a managers meeting 

here. Present were D. M. Farish, president; 

F. E. Peters, vice-president; S. B. 

Wickes, treasurer; W. Orchin, secretary and 

assistant treasurer: L. C. Pearson, general 

sales manager; A. D. Turnbull. manager, 

theatre equipment sales; A. E. Miller, general 

merchandise manager, and C. G. Bird, 

methods accountant. Managers included J. 

McEwan, Halifax; D. E. Daniel, Toronto; 

R. R. Huston, Winnipeg; W. F. Graham. 

Calgary, and L. G. Sigurdson, Vancouver. H. 

S. Walker represented Montreal. 

Paul Desruisseaux, a director of Cinema 

Premier, Inc., of Sherbrooke and publisher of 

the town's French-language daily, La Tribune, 

announced that a television station 

will be in operation early in June at nearby 

Mount Orford. The station will use programs 

from Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s 

French and English networks . first 

film in the National Film Board's Labor in 

Canada series to be sent on general distribution 

circuits is "Strike in Town." The film 

will go on basic circuits in April and urban 

circuits in May . Film Institute 

will present a brief to the Royal Commission 

on Broadcasting, headed by R. M. Fowler 

of Montreal, when it holds a public meeting 

in Ottawa around mid-April. 

. . . 

The United Amusement Corp. art department 

at 5887 Monkland has been considerably 

enlarged and entirely redecorated 

Sam Kunitsky, manager of United Artists, 

spent several days at Toronto attending the 

confirmation of the son of C. S. Chaplin, 

Toronto, general manager of United Artists 

Roher, president of Peerless Films, 

went to New York City on a business trip 

Michalsky of United Amusement 

Corp., has resigned to join IBM . . . Gerry 

Merlin is the new assistant booker at Columbia 

Pictures . Vanier of Warner Bros. 

16mm division toured Quebec City and northern 

districts ... On the sick list recently 

was Rita Hamelin, secretary at Perkins Electric 

Art Bell. Paramount's New York 

Co. . . . office, entered Montreal General Hospital. 

Eileen Lahue, cashier 

He has pneumonia . . . 

at Paramount, returned to work after being 

away a week on account of illness. 

The Canadian budget, presented in the 

House of Commons by Finance Minister 

Harris, was received with a shrug of shoulders 

by Montreal distributors and exhibitors. 

Not only did the 1955-1956 budget fail to 

ease personal and corporation tax levies but 

also failed to provide for any changes that 

would have meant some benefit to the motion 

picture industry. The Quebec provincial 

budget also failed to ease amusement 

taxation so exhibitors will have to meet 

same taxation problems at least for the 

entire fiscal period starting April 1. 

Among visitors to Filmrow were Mrs. Adrienne 

Rozon of the Royal, Hudson; Maurice 

Arpin, owner of the Pointe Claire, Pointe 

Claire, and current mayor; Jack Markow of 

Jack Markow and Co. . . . France-Film's St. 

Denis Theatre, when it presents Maurice 

Chevalier for a full week, will receive some 

modification. Four rows will be taken out in 

France-Film is 

order to extend the stage . . . 

also preparing to move from 637 Craig St. 

West where it occupies a floor. France-Film 

has been at this location more than ten years. 

The company will occupy space on St. Catherine 

street. 

Four Ontario Theatres 

Are Sold to New Owners 

TORONTO — Recent theatre changes in 

Ontario towns have included the sale by 

Menzo T. Craig of Ridgetown of two houses 

to John McGuigan. The houses are the 

Palace, 300 seats, Ridgetown, and the Majestic, 

250 seats, Dresden. 

Two previous sales also have been recorded. 

Harland Rankin sold his Rex. 425 seats, at 

Tecumseh near Windsor to the Penslar Products 

Co. for an industrial plant and also his 

Erie at Wheatley to a religious organization. 

Paramount Head Office 

To Move Temporarily 

TORONTO—The Canadian head office of 

Paramount Film Service at 111 Bond St. will 

have to move to temporary premises while 

the Paramount building is being reconstructed 

in a major project this summer. 

The present structure, which also houses 

the Toronto branch, has been used for many 

years by Gordon Lightstone, Canadian general 

manager; Win Barron, W. J. O'Neill and 

other executives. 

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. . . Joe 

— 

. . . United 

Films Comeback Hailed 

By Winnipeg Editorial 

WINNIPEG—The following editorial, under 

the heading of "Movies Make a Comeback," 

recently appeared on the editorial page of 

the Winnipeg Tribune. 

"... There were those both inside and 

outside the motion picture industry who saw 

the writing on the wall when television, 

loosed from the bonds of World War II, 

charged with full cathode ray into our homes. 

"To some the writing said 'finis.' 

To others 

it meant it wasn't large enough, colorful 

enough or bas-relief enough. So the movies 

turned briefly, to three-dimensions, then to 

wider screens—Cinemascope, VistaVision 

and other new processes. 

"The movie industry, undoubtedly, was going 

through a trying period. Some theatres 

closed. Some of these, it must be admitted, 

deserved the fate. They were outdated—they 

were uncomfortable. 

"The moviegoer who, without discrimination, 

went week after week to his neighborhood 

house stayed at home, staring into the 

wide end of a picture tube. 

"But the television set in the living room 

failed in one vital respect. It could never 

give the feeling to its audience of a 'night 

out.' So the large movie houses downtown 

began again to find things humming at the 

boxoffice, when they presented film fare the 

public wanted to see . . . 

"The movie industry plays a big part in 

bringing these people into downtown areas. 

It does it by taking people, not only out of 

their homes, but out of themselves. 

"Right now, in theatres throughout this 

city, moviegoers can sample some of the 

finest Shakespearean acting anywhere in Sir 

Laurence Olivier's 'Richard III,' can taste the 

pleasures of a small-town get-together in 

'Picnic,' can watch one of the most remarkable 

actresses today, Anna Magnani in 'The 

Rose Tattoo,' and can relive the history of 

some brave men in "The Cockleshell Heroes.' " 

WINNIPEG 

following on the heels of the practice by 

Famous Players to periodically show a 

special program every few weeks, Western 

Theatres has grouped some of its theatres 

together in a similar program known as "Pick 

of the Pix" wherein two top pictures play 

day-and-date on the same program. Admissions 

for these special programs are 60-40-15 

cents . . . Most neighborhood houses in greater 

Winnipeg are going to 35 cents for students 

Hersak of the Roblin Theatre, Roblin, 

Man., has purchased the other house in the 

town, the Lyric, from H. Jermoluk. 

Realignment of Alliance and Astral dis- 

. . . 

tributing companies will soon result in official 

managerial changes Somer James, 

Theatre Poster Services vice-president, is 

visiting Chicago . . . Exhibitors in Manitoba 

are anxiously awaiting the presentation of 

the budget by Provincial Treasurer Ron 

Turner, at which time it is expected there 

will be an amusement tax revision ... At the 

request of MMPEA President Ben Sommers, 

many exhibitors mailed in their views, ideas 

and opinions as to how to further combat the 

high amusement tax structure, should there 

be no change in the budget speech. 

British Columbia Tax 

On Tickets to 10% 

Vancouver — The provincial reduction 

in amusement taxes, effective April 

3, will benefit nonprofit groups the most. 

Taxes on charity admissions are cut from 

10 to 5 per cent. The reduction on straight 

admissions will be from 15 to 10 per cent. 

Booth Union Strike 

Again Threatened 

VANCOUVER—Boothmen in approximately 

100 Famous Players and Odeon British Columbia 

theatres again were ready to strike. 

This time the date is Saturday, March 31, if 

their wage and benefit demands are not met. 

The projectionists, members of Local 348, 

man the machines in British Columbia mainland 

houses except one at Nanaimo on Vancouver 

Island and ten in Victoria, which have 

contracts with another union. 

Both the union and the circuits have rejected 

a provincial conciliation board proposal 

recommending $2,500 severance pay 

per man in converting to one-man booths. 

The union seeks a 5 per cent wage hike and 

TORONTO 

a pension plan in addition to layoff benefits. 

Barkers at the monthly meeting of Variety 

Tent 28 at the King Edward Hotel discussed 

arrangements for sending a delegation 

to the Variety International convention in 

New York May 9-12. Lou Davidson is looking 

after local details. Chief Barker Dave Griesdorf 

announced that Famous Players has 

promised a benefit show in the fall for 

Variety Village ... At Guelph the local Army 

Reserve units paraded to the FPC Royal for 

a performance of "The Man Who Never Was" 

on the invitation of Manager Ted Doney. 

The juveniles at Kingston have become 

collectors of giveaway sets. At the Odeon 

they are getting a series of automobile license 

plates in miniature at Saturday matinees 

and at the FPC Grand the youngsters are 

able to get the national flag of a country in 

the United Nations in exchange for a box top 

Artists has arranged for the appearance 

of Barry Jones here next month for 

"Alexander the Great" . . . Manager Jack 

Clarke of Loew's is keeping an eye on April 18, 

the date of the Prince Rainier-Grace Kelly 

wedding, because "The Swan" will open at his 

theatre the same day. 

Fred Fink brought back "Ecstasy" 

for a four-day run at the Astor last week. 

V. Simone of the Radio City held "Border 

Street" for a second week, with one break 

Wednesday night for "Evening of Chekhov" 

in the art film series at that theatre . . . 

While Fred Trebilcock was getting the Tivoli 

ready for reopening with "Oklahoma!" in 

Todd-AO, across the street wrecking crews 

started the dismantling of the old Victoria 

which has been dark many months. The site 

will be used for a parking lot. 

Roberts restaurant at Hamilton has a tiein 

with Braden's four theatres—the Strand, 

Kenilworth, Kenmore and Avalon—through 

which dinner guests can buy theatre tickets 

at half price. 

RESEARCH BUREAU 

for 

MODERN THEATRE PLANNERS 



PLANNING INSTITUTE 



Gentlemen: 

I 

3-31-56 




Acoustics 


D Architectural Service 


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D Coin Machines 

D Complete Remodeling 

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Drink Dispensers 

D Drive-In Equipment 

D Other Subjects 

Theatre 

Seating Capacity... 

Address 

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Signed 


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Postage-paid reply cards for your further convenience 

in obtaining information are provided in The MODERN 


each month. 


: March 

31, 1956

— 

• ALPHABETICAL INDEX 

• ADLINES & EXPLOITIPS 

• BOXOFFICE BAROMETER 

• EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY 

• FEATURE RELEASE CHART 

• FEATURE REVIEW DIGEST 

• REVIEWS OF FEATURES 

• SHORTS RELEASE CHART 

• SHORT SUBJECT REVIEWS 

• SHOWMANDISING IDEAS 

BOXOFFICE 

mmmn 

THE GUIDE TO I BETTER BOOKING AND BUSINESS-BUILDING 

DRIVE-IN NETS $10,000 YEAR ON SWAP MARKET 

) 

Daytime swap sessions each Sunday are 

netting one southern California drive-in. 

the Aero east of San Diego, $10,000 a year 

in extra profits through a plan set up by 

Manager Al Dumont. 

Every Sunday, starting at 9:30 a.m., the 

theatre lot is rented to prospective buyers, 

sellers and traders as 35 cents per car, and 

Dumont averages about 400 cars per 

Sunday. 

Minimum crews and absence of normal 

drive-in operating costs, film rentals, for 

example, have helped the plan become a 

paying sideline which has clicked for two 

years. 

LIKE EIGHTH DAY IN WEEK 

"It's just like having another day in 

the week," Dumont said. 

In addition to the gate receipts, the snack 

bar takes in a goodly share of the Sunday 

daytime profits. 

"The' Sunday snack bar trade usually 

brings in as much as the boxoffice," Dumont 

said. He introduced the plan in May 

1954 at the Aero, where he has been manager 

since 1951. Six weeks after opening, 

the trading post idea became a profitmaking 

success. 

Today traders are on hand at 9:30 a.m. 

to set up their displays. A traditional 

market-way has come to be recognized and 

is lined solidly with displays by 11 a.m. 

Along this southland "flea market" the 

casual shopper can buy anything from a 

hairpin to a tractor. Many of Dumont's 

customers are regulars "with a little gypsy 

in their souls," he said. 

COME FROM MANY TOWNS 

Once traders start to come, providing 

they like the place, they continue to appear. 

Dumont said. Some come from towns 60 

miles or more away. 

Dumont knows almost everyone who has 

a display. Each Sunday he tours the 

market lane, speaks to almost all of the 

traders and stops to joke or pass a few 

remarks applicable to the individual. He 

thoroughly enjoys the experience. Of a 

contented-looking old man soaking up the 

sunshine, Dumont quipped, "I like to call 

this my health resort." 

"The business depends on my being here 

every week," Dumont said. "These people 

like the friendly atmosphere, and it's up 

to me to keep it that way or they may 

stop comping." 

Swapping doesn't Interfere with regular 

Manager Al Dumont, second from right, looks on as Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Lawrence of El Cajon, Calif., 

left, look over some of the swap items displayed at the Aero Drive-ln in San Diego by Anton 

Brotvold, National City, Calif., at right. The "cowhand" is unidentified. 

Sunday evening business, because the 

traders are asked to leave before 4 p.m. 

Advertising the swap meets costs about 

$25 a month on the average, Dumont said. 

In addition to outside advertising, he runs 

a trailer on his own screen. 

Dumont said that two other theatres in 

this locale had tried the stunt in the past, 

only to fold because of lack of attendance. 

Dumont said he thinks this can be expected 

unless the management takes a sincere 

interest in promoting new customers 

and maintaining goodwill. 

However, the keen showman who can 

stand to increase profits might do so by 

starting a similar service in his neighborhood. 

Success of such a venture, Dumont believes, 

depends on encouraging people—the 

well to do, the low income earner, the 

housewife with time on her hands, the 

widow who wants to turn some old dishes 

into cash, the farmer, the office worker 

bring unwanted articles to swap or sell. 

to 

There's a little bit of the gypsy trader, the 

bargain hunter in everyone: this is the 

foundation on which the promotion of an 

open-air market can be built. 

Once the news gets around used articles 

can be acquired at bargain prices, even by 

trading a "useless" gadget now laying 

around the house, people will flock in. 

Many will come, once the word gets around, 

just out of curiosity: maybe buy a $5 

castaway for 50 cents, then become regular 

patrons. Young mothers will be there nun?- 

ing a baby bed cheap; the husband may 

bring an outboard motor to trade for a 

wood-working machine. 

Passes for Tattoos 

For "The Rose Tattoo," Fred Greenway, 

Zigmund Rossiliano and Jack Keppner of 

the Palace in Hartford offered a pair of 

guest tickets to any local male reporting 

at the theatre with a rose tattoo on his arm 

or chest. They also had a "mystery girl" on 

the downtown streets several days ahead of 

the regional premiere, tieing in with clues 

as to her identity appearing in the local 

dailies. The girl awarded pairs of guest 

tickets to the first 25 persons who approached 

her and properly identified her 

by asking, "Are you the Rose Tattoo?" 

BOXOFFICE Showmandiser March 31, 1956 — 89 — l

— 

J-ôint o f 

view 

JJOW does a manager feel when he leaves 

the industry after 25 years to go into 

another field of endeavor? It would be 

logical to assume that everything hadn't 

worked out according to his highest hopes 

and expectations, or he might not have 

switched jobs. Does such a man consider 

that he's wasted a good part of his lifetime? 

We received one man's answer to 

this poser the other day, and we think it's 

worth repeating: "No, I am not bitter," 

he writes in part. "It was fruitful, enjoyable, 

rewarding and exciting ... In fact, 

anyone leaving the industry can just about 

name his own job in any other industry because 

of the various facets connected with 

running one or more theatres." That's an 

honest appraisal, in our estimation. 

* 

We saw plenty of good campaigns on 

the double bill Universal put together 

late last year— "Tarantula" and "Running 

Wild"— so we figure that the newest 

action-horror combo U-I has packaged 

should be loaded with exploitation 

potential, too. The two films are "The 

Creature Walks Among Us" and "The 

Price of Fear." If they do as well as 

the first duo, many a theatreman will 

be pleased. 

* 

News last week of the contemplated 19- 

mile parachute jump through the upper 

stratosphere, to take place this fall, proved 

a timely break for the publicity and exploitation 

boys at 20th-Fox. And it will continue 

to be so, of course, for any of you 

getting this film shortly. Air Force Lt. 

Henry P. Nielsen, who will make the fabulous 

descent, was technical advisor on the 

film, which portrays the work of the U. S. 

Air Force Research and Development Command. 

Experiments similar to the high 

altitude drop are portrayed in the film. 

* 

On the eve of the Academy Awards, 

one of the New York dailies carried 

a feature on the probable winners, 

listing each category as a "race" with 

entries, odds, and "track comments." 

It sure did get attention, and it might 

be a good idea to store away for next 

year, or for other film awards news 

breaks later in the year, such as advance 

stories on the Audience Awards. 

Local editors should go for it. 

* 

Spring exhibitor mood! L. J. Williams of 

Union, Mo., president of the Missouri- 

Illinois Theatre Owners, opened a regional 

meeting in Louisiana, Mo., with these 

words: "We're not here to gripe about 

anyone. Nothing good ever comes from 

name calling. We must get back to fundamentals 

and realities to sell our pictures 

and get the people to come back to our 

theatres." The exhibitors present then proceeded 

to relate to each other the promotions 

they have tried out and found to be 

profitable. 

—LARRY GOODMAN 

Showmen Put New Life in Civil Defense; 

Theatre and Court-Martial' Benefit 

Robert Page and Art Stills, 

showmen of 

Flint, Mich., performed a major service 

for a faltering Civil Defense Corps unit 

and at the same time placed "The Cour„- 

Martial of Billy Mitchell" in the center of 

public attention. Page is general manager 

for the Eiseman theatre interests at Flint 

and Stills is manager of the Michigan Theatre 

where the film concerning the Air 

Force general played. 

To accomplish their twin feat, Page and 

Stills conceived a campaign to enroll new 

members in Flint's badly undermanned 

Ground Observer Corps. Starting far in 

advance of playdate they put over the idea 

with Helen Luther, deputy director of the 

Genesee County Civil Defense. She gave 

her wholehearted support to their plan for 

a 14-day recruitment promotion. 

Besides their services in executing the 

campaign, Page and Stills offered theatre 

passes to all recruits to help the drive 

along. Stills personally contacted the city's 

four radio and one TV station and the two 

newspapers, the Journal and News Advertiser, 

and was assured their full cooperation. 

During the drive, Stills prepared 

daily press releases for these media. 

Of course, the theatre's role in the campaign 

and "Court-Martial" were mentioned 

in all announcements on radio, TV, news 

stories and editorials. 

Civil Defense and Air Force units in the 

area provided material for lobby displays, 

which were supplemented by model planes 

suspended by wires from the ceiling, 

loaned by a local hobby shop and model 

plane club. CD workers manned a booth, 

passing out recruiting material. 

Naturally the membership drive was 

kicked off (14 days in advance of "Court- 

Martial") with proper fanfare—an inter- 

« -t Sg 

10TM 

- ! - ; i*0» B,, n 

' 

3§Sr 

Ernie Emerling, national ad publicity director 

for Loew's Theatres, and Eugene Picker, vicepresident 

in charge of New York theatre operations, 

attend the ceremonies in Times Square 

which launched the circuit's "Springtime 

Shower of Hits." Behind them is one of the 

floats which toured the area heralding the playdates 

of such spring attractions as "I'll Cry 

Tomorrow," "The Rose Tattoo," "Guys and 

Dolls" and "The Court Jester." 

view on an afternoon disk jockey show of 

Manager Stills and Mrs. Luther on the 

subject of civil defense. The deejay 

plugged the drive throughout the 14 days, >r 

then handed out the passes to the new recruits. 

The Air Force recruiting office supplied a 

public relations non-com to assist in the 

drive, 22 Boy Scout troops distributed 20,500 

Ground Observer pamphlets. 

Said Stills in summing up the value of 

the campaign: 

"The entire thing cost us only the paper 

for the mimeographed messages, the purchase 

and printing of window cards and a 

lot of old-fashioned hard work. Here are 

the dividends: tremendous free press, radio 

and TV coverage which will keep people 

thinking about the Michigan Theatre; 

word-of-mouth advertising, the kind you 

simply cannot buy; goodwill in doing a 

public service, and enough volunteers to 

maintain a 24-hour watch at the Bishop 

airport Ground Observers post. 

"We received great cooperation in this 

endeavor and feel confident that this will 

aid in future promotions. There are those 

who would sound the death knell for the 

movie business, but it is far from dead 

it only needs the breath of showmen who 

will take the chance, who will spend a dime 

to make a quarter." 

'Never Was' Promotion 

Cuts Out War Theme 

Fox Midwest first run houses in Kansas 

City set up a special sales campaign on 

"The Man Who Never Was," using a 

curiosity-building theme with teasers in 

the newspaper and a special trailer. Copy 

eliminated the spy and war angle. 

In the newspaper ads, the Kansas City 

campaign suggested that patrons "see it 

from the start and don't reveal its secret!" 

Other lines used in the ads included "He 

never existed, yet he changed the course 

of the world," "It's a true story! A chilling 

drama! Such suspense you've never 

witnessed! It's different, spell-binding, 

exciting! See the most ingenious and daring 

deception ever accomplished," and 

"Who is this man? Where did he come 

from? It's a true story! "But above all 

don't reveal his secret!" 

The first runs had a special trailer prepared 

using a sound effects background 

made by an electronic device such as that 

associated with outer space pictures. Copyon 

the trailer read: 

"Who was this man? Where did he come 

from? To show you more of this exciting 

Cinemascope thrill would only spoil your 

full enjoyment of a most unusual picture. 

It could only happen once. For ten years 

it was the world's best guarded secret, and 

only now can it be told. See 'The Man Who 

Never Was,' and above all don't tell its 

secret." 

— 90 — BOXOFFICE Showmcradiser " March 31, 1956 

>s

" 

Adults-Only House 

Off to Good Start 

Reopening of the Lark in Brazil, Ind., as 

a weekend operation in which adult patrons 

can escape the youngsters got off 

well, according to Stanley A. B. Cooper, 

president of the Citizens Theatre Co. The 

theatre, which had been closed for two 

years in this city of 10,000, was polished 

up and reopened with plenty of cooperation 

from local merchants "who gave every 

bit of help possible in boosting the reopening 

of another theatre in our town," according 

to Cooper. 

"We are trying an entirely new idea of 

small-town exhibition," Cooper reported. 

"We are not permitting children of elementary 

school age or preschool age to attend 

this theatre. We are not running an 'art' 

house, nor are we adopting a policy of running 

suggestive pictures. We are merely 

separating such pictures as 'Interrupted 

Melody,' 'Kismet,' 'Summertime,' etc., from 

the regular film fare and presenting it to 

adult audiences in one theatre where they 

may not be bothered by noisy and restless 

children in the audience. 

"So far, the idea has been received with 

enthusiasm. We are getting out adults who 

haven't been in a theatre for years!" the 

operator commented. 

Cooper, who recently won a BOXOFFICE 

Citation but who noted that he has been 

unable to submit his photo as yet, wrote: 

"I have been too busy of late to get to the 

photographers." 

Capitol Record Kit Going 

To DJs for 'Scarlet Hour' 

Paramount is joining forces with Capitol 

Records in one of the biggest music promotional 

tieups in recent years for Nat "King" 

Cole's recording of "Never Let Me Go," 

which the vocalist sings in "The Scarlet 

Hour." Capitol will send display material 

featuring art of star Carol ©hmart and a 

special kit publicizing both record and film 

to 3.000 disk jockeys. 

SQUARE DANCE UNDER MARQUEE IN RAIN 

ADDS TO MEMPHIS SPRING' CAMPAIGN 

A group of 20 square dancers performing 

under the marquee of the Malco Theatre 

during a driving rainstorm stopped traffic 

along heavily traveled Main street in Memphis 

on the opening day of "Come Next 

Spring." The rain wasn't expected, of 

course, but the appearance of the square 

dancers, caller and all, had passersby 

staring. 

Ray Thome, managing director of the 

Malco, also promoted considerable free 

newspaper space on the opening, and par- 

Goldsmith's carried a seven-column page 

ad heralding the film and the actor's appearance. 

Memphis Ford dealers tied in 

with the theatre to run a three-column, 

15-inch ad in the Commercial Appeal. 

Thome also promoted one hour and 15 

minutes of free radio time with Cochran, 

and he received numerous stories and 

photographs of his arrival and activities. 

In other promotion for the picture, 

Thome handed out 5,000 throwaways at the 

gates of three important basketball games 

Manager Thome and Steve Cochran (left photo). Right, lobby board with art work. 

ticularly on the personal appearance of 

actor Steve Cochran, seen in the photo 

with Thome. Bannered cars transported 

Cochran from the airport to downtown 

Memphis on his arrival in town, and 

Thome had lobby cards spotted in the hotel 

lobby to welcome the star. 

In a tieup with Goldsmith's department 

store, Thome promoted free a threecolumn, 

seven-inch free ad in the Press- 

Scimitar carrying a photo of Cochran and 

bannered, "Seen dining yesterday in Goldsmith's 

Restaurant." The previous day 

in the area prior to the opening of the picture. 

Thome likes to keep his copy and promotional 

activities interesting, particularly 

his institutional advertising, a sample 

of which is shown here. This is a lobby 

board with art work which Thome worked 

up early in the year. 

"This board," said Thome, "is changed 

frequently and I always strive to keep the 

copy on the comical side. Institutional 

copy can be interesting, too, I believe." 

Thus his lobby theme fits the season. 

ReopeningWeek Come-Ons 

Reopening the Strand in Willimantic. 

Conn., after a nine-month closing, Carim 

E. John offered these courtesies during the 

first week: Monday evening, Family night, 

with the entire family admitted for the 

price of the parents' tickets only: Wednesday, 

ladies free when accompanied by a 

male escort, and Saturday, matinee free 

for children if 

accompanied by parent. 

Kaye Recording on Phones 

A recording of hysterical laughter by 

Danny Kaye is what interested callers 

heard when they phoned the number listed 

,,r 

\ in a teaser ad headed "Want a good laugh?" 

What's Exploitable 

In the Magazines 

"Danny Kaye's Story: The Sorrow Behind 

the Jester" is the intriguing title of 

an exploitable piece on the comic star and 

his latest Paramount film. "The Court 

Jester." It appears in the April copy of 

Woman's Home Companion. 

The March issue of Mademoiselle 

gives Colu?nbia's "Picnic" a review 

worth holding onto if playdates are 

coming up. The catchline for the copy 

is "brilliant moviemaking." 

A major feature on MGM's "Lust for 

Life." which includes four pages in color 

on the film biography of Vincent Van 

Gogh, appears in Seventeen for April. A 

photo of Kirk Douglas made up as the 

painter appears opposite a color reproduction 

of Van Gogh's "Portrait of the Artist 

in a Straw Hat." The painting is suitable 

for framing; the spread is suitable for lobby 

display. 

"The Conqueror" gets breaks in Cue 

dated March 24, and in the May issue 

of Movie Show. Star John Wayne is 

on the cover of Cue, with a lead article 

and scene stills inside. 

Broadcasts From Homes 

Include Picture Plugs 

A promotion guaranteed to deliver at 

least 40 good radio plugs a week for a 

theatre and its attraction, plus a full halfhour 

devoted to one film or a star, was carried 

out by Mailers Bros. Defiance, Ohio, 

theatres. 

The Valentine joined radio station 

WONW, a dairy, a florist and a restaurant 

in promotion in which an announcer went 

into a Defiance home each weekday to 

interview eight invited women for a halfhour 

tape-recording. One of the questions 

asked each woman had to do with movies. 

Each one was awarded a pass to the Valentine, 

so that the theatre received eight plugs 

each show. 

The tape-recordings were played back 

each morning on the radio at 10:30, adding 

up to 40 plugs a week. One of the programs 

during each week, moreover, used as its 

principal topic of discussion a film currently 

at the Valentine, one on its way in, 

or a star from the attraction or coming 

attraction. Thus, an additional half hour 

each week was obtained gratis. 

The dairy was brought into the sponsorship 

for furnishing orange juice to each 

woman, the florist gave the host a plant or 

flowers, and the restaurant furnished coffee 

and doughnuts. The only cost to the 

theatre was eight passes a day. Said 

Elmer N. DeWitt, city manager of Mailers 

Theatres: 

"The benefit we derived from this show 

over the past eight months is hard to measure, 

but it must have helped us out a 

great deal when you consider all the plugs 

we received." 

Richard R. Rook of the Rook 

Theatre in Cheyenne, 

Okla., figured that his 

customers do not read the 

plus and minus signs in 

Boxoffice, and the newspaper 

reviews which rote 

"Simba" very high. 

So he prepared his own ad 

copy, illustrated herewith, 

emphasizing that the film 

is not just another type 

of jungle picture. Note 

that he listed the ratings 

given by BOXOFFICE 

and other trade publications. 

The ad was five columns 

by eight inches. 

\ This is 

'' 

the real 

MAU 

MAU 

„,__. story! 

A LOT OF YOU WILL PASS UP 

THIS PICTURE u„i.„ y„„ R„d E».fy wotj 

r*it« ii tuft «>* 

Right Treatment Puts Aida Across 

In Smaller Situation, Exhibitor Finds 

The right kind of treatment combined 

with honest effort put "Aida" across in 

Ashland, Ky., according to John W. Godfrey 

of the Paramount Theatre there. The 

film presented somewhat of a challenge, 

the exhibitor said, since pictures similar in 

scope to this one hadn't done too well in his 

locality. 

Said Godfrey: "The cooperation of the 

schools was a 'must' for this campaign, and 

I personally contacted all the high and junior 

high schools in Ashland and in a 50- 

mile area. A coupon student price was 

made. Some 5,000 coupons were distributed 

to all the school children. In addition, letters 

were written to the heads of music departments 

of the various schools." 

"Aida" pressbook stories were sent to 

each school, and "Aida" cards were placed 

on all bulletin boards. Godfrey talked to 

many members of the various faculties. 

Some decided to give students extra credit 

for attending "Aida," and most had their 

Pencil Giveaway Used 

To Urge Sate Driving 

John Smith of the Strand, Atmore, 

Ala., has been distributing pencils on 

cards, which bear the following copy: 

Strand and Palms Drive-In theatres, 

Atmore, Ala, 

Sing while you drive . . . 

At 45 miles per hour, sing— "Highways 

Are Happy Ways." 

At 55 miles, sing— "I'm But a Stranger 

Here, Heaven Is My Home." 

At 65 miles, sing— "Nearer My God to 

Thee." 

At 75 miles, sing— "When the Roll Is 

Called Up Yonder, I'll Be There." 

At 85 miles, sing— "Lord, I'm Coming 

Home." 

Getting back to business—Drive Safely! 

We like our customers and wish to keep 

them. 

students write a report on the film. Music 

classes in some of the schools made the 

opera film part of the term's work. 

As early as the second day of the engagement, 

five school buses from Greenup, 

25 miles away, and other outlying districts 

brought students to the theatre. The 

Eastern Kentucky Teachers Ass'n bulletin 

recommended that all teachers attend with 

their pupils. 

Through the cooperation of radio station 

WCMI, an opera quiz was presented 

a week in advance, with an "Aida" record 

album going to the winner. Another contest, 

in the classified section of the Ashland 

Independent, was also promoted. 

Each day for a week a picture of Sophia 

Loren, the star of "Aida," appeared with 

the name of three films she had appeared 

in. The names were scattered throughout 

the section. The first three persons who 

could spot the locations of the three film 

names each day were awarded guest tickets. 

A small program sheet playing up "the 

first brilliant wedding of grand opera and 

great filmmaking" was mailed to all doctors, 

attorneys and other professional people 

in the locality. These programs were 

also inserted in the high school basketball 

programs. "Aida" announcements were 

mailed to people on lists supplied by women's 

clubs, which announced the movie 

at their meetings. 

The^mayor, the head of the board of education 

and other leaders of the community 

were invited to the opening, and this 

certainly gave the playdate a boost, according 

to Godfrey. 

"All in all, a little hard work turned our 

engagement of 'Aida' into a great success," 

the exhibitor concluded. 

Phil Hill, manager of the Lincoln in 

Belleville, 111., revamped ads on "Kismet," 

eliminating Howard Keel with the beard 

and playing up Vic Damone, the girls and 

the music. 

— 92 BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : March 31, 1956

FOR 

YOUR SHOWMANDISING /IDEA FILE 

Tape Recorder for Radio Spots "Crazy Night' Promotion 

ij Most radio stations have a "second" tape recorder which a 

| At White River Drive-In. Batesville. Ark., patrons were warned 

good advertising customer can learn to operate in a lew min- over p.a. system not to come to the theatre on a particular 

ules. With a recorder available—and some appropriate copy night, unless they wanted a "crazy lime" and were prepared 

on hand hie yourseli to the booth with all the background lor anything. Car hops were dressed up with play money 

noise, etc.. tell the lolks where you are. who you are and bulging out oi pockets—sign on backs saying they were 

about the great picture you are previewing "right now." You "loaded." They blew snake whistles into patrons laces, every 

can make spots to noise of popcorn machine, tinkle of change now and then refused to accept money for tickets, sometimes 

in boxoffice, talk in hushed voice to background of laughter | bought the tickets for patrons. Snack bar was sniped with 

in audience. You don't have to be a "voice," just be yourself, "impossible" signs, offering confections at outrageously high 

speak clearly and distinctly and folks will listen when you come prices. Water lountains warned against "poison water." urged 

on air. Capitol Theatre, Plant City. Fla.. used this technique, purchase of beverage. Announced over p.a.. husband was 

found radio stations most cooperative, as they were getting coming alter wile out with another man, with planted car racing 

business out of the loan of the recorder. out of ramp area. Drew big.

BOXOFFICE 

BAROMETER 

This chart records the performance of current attractions in the opening week of their first runs in 

the 20 key cities checked. Pictures with fewer than five engagements are not listed. As new runs 

are reported, ratings are added and averages revised. Computation is in terms of percentage in 

relation to normal grosses as determined by the theatre managers. With 100 per cent as "normal," 

the figures show the gross rating above or below that mark. 

. 

mmmmmmmmm 

| 

All That Heaven Allows (U-I> 140 150 180 200 135 200 110 180 105 165 175 150 170 130 145 130 175 

ipache Woman (AxiC) 100 90 100 100 80 100 

Battle Stations (Col) 120 125 100 105 

Beast With 1,000,000 Eyes, The (ARC) 115 85 90 75 110 

| 

Bengazi (RKO)

SF. 

. . .D. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

Footure productions by company In order of release. Number In square Is national release dote. Running 

time Is In parentheses, c Is for ClnemoScopc; V VlstaVlsion; s Superscope. Symbol ij denotes BOX- 

OFFICE Blue Ribbon Award Winner; O color photography. Letters and combinations thereof Indicate 

story type: (C} Comedy; (D) Drama; (Ad) Adventure-Drama; (CD) Comedy-Drama; (M) Musical; (W) Western. 

(Complete key on next page.) For review dates and Picture Guide page numbers, see Review Digest. 

Feature 

chart 

ALLIED ARTISTS B 

COLUMBIA e -bo 

t- ccz 

M-G-M 

PARAMOUNT 

RKO RADIO 

53 Phenix City Story, The 

(100) D..5525 

Richard Kiley. Kathryn Grant, 

Jobn Mclntire 

Ac. .5526 

B Night Freight (79) . . . , 

Forrest Tucker, Barbara Brit ton 

©Bring Your Smile Along 

(S3) 

M..S03 

Frankic Laine, Keefe Brasselle 

©Man From Laramie, The 

(104) © W..801 

James Stewart, Cathy O'Donnell 

5) ©King's Thief, The 

(79) © D..532 

Ann Blyth. Edmund Purdoro. 

David Nlven 

53 ©Scarlet Coat (110) ©..D..533 

Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding. 

Anne Francis 

©We're No Angels 

(103) ffl CD.. 5414 

Humphrey Bogart, Joan Bennett, 

Aldo Ray 

©You're Never Too Young 

(102) ® C. 5415 

Martin & Lewis, Diana Lynn 

53 Bengazi 

SB QWarriors, The (85) ©.D..5523 

En ol Flynn, Joanne Dru, 

Peter Finch 

SI Jail Busters (61) C..5529 

Bowery Boys, Barton MacLane 

3] Return of Jack Slade, The 

(79) ® W..5528 

John Erlcson, Mari Blanchard 

§7 Bobby Ware Is Missing 

(66) D..5532 

Neville Brand. Jean Wllles 

2 Toughest Man Alive (72). Ac. .5533 

Dune Clark, Llta Milan, A. Caruso 

1 

©Paris Follies of 1956 

(73) M..5534 

Forrest Tucker, Whiting Sisters 

S Shack Out on 101 (80) . . .5535 

. 

Terry Moore. Frank Lovejoy. 

Keenan Wynn 

53 Sudden Danger (63) D..5548 

Bill Elliott, Tom Drake 

H©At Gunpoint (80) ©. .W. .5531 

Fred MacMurray. Dorothy Malone. 


Apache Ambush (67) W. .804 

Bill Williams. Richard Jaeckel 

©Footsteps in the Fog (90). D.. 802 

Stewart Granger, Jean 81mmon9 

© Gun That Won the West 

(71) W. .809 

1'ennis Morgan, Paula Raymond 

Night Holds Terror (86) D..807 

Jack Kelly, Hlldy Parks 

Special Delivery (86) C. 806 

©Count Three and Pray 

(102) © 0D..S11 

Van Heflin, Joanoe Woodward 

Queen Bee (95) D. .819 

Joan Crawford, Barry Sullivan 

Teen-Age Crime Wave (77). .Cr. .824 

Tommy Cook, Molly McCart 

Three Stripes in the Sun 

(93) CD. .820 

Aldo Ray, Mltsuko Kimura, 

Phil Carey 

Crooked Web. The (77) . .816 

Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard 

Hell's Horizon (79) D..823 

Jolin Ireland, Maria English 

©Lawless Street, A (78) . . .W. .814 

Randolph Scott, Angela Lansbury 

3} ©It's Always Fair Weather 

(102) © M. .601 

Gene Kelly, Dan Dalley, 

Cyd Charlsse 

SlOSvengali (82) © D..602 

Hlldegarde Neff, Donald WoUit 

[D Trial D..604 

Gienn Ford, Dorothy McGulre, 

Devil Goddess (70) Ad.. 805 Arthur Kennedy 

Johnny Weissmuller, Angela Stevens 

Duel on the Mississippi (72). D. 808 S3 ©Quentin Durward 

Lei Barker, Patricia Medina 

(101) © Ad. 607 

U©My Sister Eileen 

Robert Taylor, Kay Kendall, 

(102) © MC..810 Robert Morley 

Janet Leigh. J. Lemmon. B. Garrett 

S] Tender Trap, The 

(111) © C..60S 

Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, 

Celeste Holm, David Wayne 

U©Guys and Dolls (149) ©. M . .614 

Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, 

Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine 

gS ©Kismet (113) © M..6L3 

H. Keel, Ann Blyth, Vic Damone 

3 ©It's a Dog's Life 

(88) © CD.. 603 

(Reviewed as "The Bar 

Sinister" 8-27-55) 

Edmund Gwenn. Jarma Lewis 

©Girl Rush, The (85) ®. .M. 550' 

Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas 

©To Catch a Thief (97) ®.D. 5502 

Cary Grant, Grace Kelly 

©Ulysses (104) 0.5503 

Kirk Douglas, Sllvana Mangano 

Desperate Hours, The 

(U2) ® D..5509 

Humphrey Bogart, Fredrlc March 

©Lucy Gallant (104) ®...D..5504 

June Wyman, Charlton Heston 

©Artists and Models 

(109) ® MC..5510 

Martin & Lewis, Dorothy Malone 

T Dig That Uranium (61) . .C. .5541 

Bowery Boys, Mary Beth Hughes 

H 

Deadliest Sin, The (75).. D. .5601 

Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton 

Inside Detroit (82) D..815 

Pat O'Brien, Dennis O'Keefe 

SLast Frontier, The (98) ©.W. .812 

Victor Mature, Anne Bancroft, 

Guy Madison 

ID ©Diane (110) © D..616 

Lana Turner. Pedro Armendariz, 

Marisa Pavan 

13 Ransom! (104) D..617 

Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, 

Leslie Nielsen 

©Trouble With Harry, The 

(100) ® CD. 5508 

Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe. 

Shirley MacLalne 

[H Invasion of the Body Snatchers 

(80) ® SF..5602 

Kevin McCarthy. Dana Wynter, 

King Donovan 

[3 Atomic Man, The (78) . .5612 

Gene Nelson, Faith Domergue 

H Indestructible Man (70) . Ho. .5613 

Lon Chaney, Marian Carr 

g§ ©World Without End 

(80) © SF..5607 

Hugh Marlowe. Nancy Gates 

E Wicked Wife (75) D .5^06 

Nigel Patrick. Molra Lister 

51! Come On. The (82) (f..D..5608 

Anne Baxter, Sterling Hayden 

g_? Crashing Las Vegas (63). C. .5609 

Leo Gorccy, Huntz Hall, M. Castle 

[S Thunderstorm (81) D..5604 

Linda Christian, Carlo* Thompson, 

Charles Korvin 

13 Mother- Sir! (83) D. .5611 

Joan Bennett, Gary Merrill. 

Shirley Yamagurhl 

S: Screaming Eagles (81). D. 

Tom Tryon, Jan Merlin 

5610 

53 Crime in the Streets (91). Cr. Jim 

John CaasareUs, James Whltmore 

51 ©Four Seasons. The 00 Jun 

DwU Wayne. Kevnan Wynn 

31 King of the Coral Seas . . . D . .Jun 

China li.itfrrty. Rod Taylor 

E ©First Texan. The © W. Jul 

Joel McCrra. Felicia Farr 

SJQNo Place to Hide (72). D Jul 

l>avid Brian. Marsha Hunt 

S3 Hold Back the Night D Jul 

Battle Stations (81 > D . . 828 

J. Lund, Wm. Bendli, K. Brasselle 

Fury at Gunslght Pass (68). W. .817 

David Brian, Neville Brand 

Houston Story, The (79) . . . . D. .821 

Lee J. Cobb, B. Hale. Edw. Arnold 

Joe Macbeth (90) D..822 

Paul Douglas, Hutb Unman 

©Picnic (115) © D..826 

Wro. Holden, R. Russell, K. Novak 

©Hot Blood (85) © D..834 

Jane Russell, Cornel Wilde 

Prisoner. The (91) D..825 

Alec Guinness. Jack Hawkins 

Uranium Boom (67) D..837 

Dennis Morgan, Patricia Medina 

Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado 

(76) W.. 

Howard Duff, Maggie Mahoney 

Harder They Fall, The (109). D.. 

Humphrey Bogart, Rod Stelger, 

Jan Sterling 

Over-Exposed (SO) D..835 

Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna 

Rock Around the Clock (77). M.. 

Johnny Johnston. Bill Haley 

©Cockleshell Heroes © D..813 

Jose Ferrer, Trevor Howard 

3Jubal (..) © W.. 

(Sen Ford. Ernest Borgnlne, 

Rod Stelger, Felicia Farr 

Storm Center (. .) D. 

Bette Dull, Kim Hunter, 

Brian Keith 

©Safari © Ad. Jun 

Victor Mature, Janet Leigh 

©Storm Over the Nile ©...D.Jun 

Anthony Steel, Laurence Harvey 

©Eddy Duchin Story, The c< D Jul 

Tyrone Power, Kim Novak 

Solid Gold Cadillac C. . 

Judy Holllday, Paul Douglas 

1984 D . 

Edmond O'Brien, Michael Redgrave 

. 

Gamma People D . 

John Payne, Mona Freeman 

Paul Douglas, Patricia Medina 

51 Magnificent Roughnecks. . .CD Jul ©Port Afrloue D . 

Jack Carson, Mickey Rooney 

Pier Angell. P. Carey. D Price 

3] ©Canyon River © W. Aug ©Zarak Khan © D. 

George Montgomery, Peter Graves Victor Mature, Anita Elbert 

D . Aug Autumn Leaves D.. 

if Three for Jamie Dawn . . . . 

l.anlpe Day. Rlcnnin Montalhan 

.Inhn Oswfnrd. Cliff Rotyrt.ino 

53 ©Forever Darling (100). C. 620 

Luclle Ball, DesI Arnaz, 

James Mason 

13 ©Last Hunt, The 

(108) © 0D..621 

Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger. 

Debra Paget 

D ©Meet Me in Las Vegas 

(112) © M 622 

Dan Dalley, Cyd Charlsse, 

Paul Henreld 

13 ©Forbidden Planet 

(106) © SF. 625 

Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, 

Leslie Nielsen 

111 ©Tribute to a Bad Man 

(95) © M..626 

James Cagney, Irene Papas 

S3 ©Gaby (97) © D..627 

Leslie Caron, John Kerr 

©Swan, The © CD . 

Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness 

Rack. The D.. 

Paul Newman, Anne Francis 

I'll Cry Tomorrow D.. 

(Special release) 

Susan Hayward. Eddie Albert 

Catered Affair, The CO 

B. Davis, I). Reynolds. B. Borgnlne 

©Bhowani Junction © Ad.. 

\> i Girdncr, Stewart Granger 

. 

©Living Idol, The © D. . 

©Lust 

Forrest, L. Montevecchl 

for Life © D. . 

Kirk Douglas. A. Qulnn, P. Brown 

OHigh Society © M.. 

B. Crosby, G Kelly. F. Sinatra 

©Invitation to the Dame M . 

Rose Tattoo, The (117) ®.CD. 5511 

Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster 

©Court Jester, The (101) ®.C..5512 

Danny Kaye, Giynls Johns 

©Anything Goes (108) ®..M..5513 

Blng Crosby, Donald O'Connor, 

Mitzl Gaynor, Jeanmalre 

Scarlet Hour, The (95) ®. 

. D..5514 

Carol Ohnxirt. Tom Tryon, 

Elaine Stritcli, Jody LawTance 

©Birds and the Bees 

(94) (V C..5515 

Gtiirê Qobet, Mitzl Gaynor, 

David Nlven, Reginald Gardner 

Leather Saint ® W. .Jun 

John Deret. Jody Lawrance 

©Man Who Knew Too Much y" D .Jun 

James Stewart, Doris Day 

©That Certain Feeling ®....C..Jul 

Bob Hope. Eva Marie Saint 

©Pardneri ® C. . 

Dean Martin. Jerry Lewis 

©Mountain, The e Carlo, A Baxter 

©Maverick. The ® W . 

Charlton Hwton. Anne Balter

.D. 

. . D 

. W. 

. D 

. 

. 

EATURE 

CHART 

The Key to letters and combinations thereof Indicating story type: (Ad) Adventure-Drama; (Ac) Action- 

Drama; (An) Animated-Action; (C) Comedy; (CD) Comedy-Drama; (Cr) Crime-Drama; (DM) Dramo 

with Music; (Doc) Documentary; (D) Drama; (F) Fantasy; (FC) Farce-Comedy; (Ho) Horror-Drama; (HI) 

Historical-Drama; (M) Musical; (My) Mystery; (OD) Outdoor-Drama; (SF) Science-Fiction; (W) Western. 

REPUBLIC 

20TH-FOX 

©Love Is a Many-Splendored 

Thing (102) lei 

S3 Divided Heart. The (89) D .5408 

Cornell Borchers, Alexander Knox 

[§ Headline Hunters (70) . .5440 

Hod Cameron, Julie Bishop 

ES ©Last Command. The 

(110) 00. .5407 

S. Hayden, A. M. Alberghetti 

i§ Cross Channel (60) . . . 5441 

Wayne Morris, Yvonne Furneaux 

. 

HTwinkle in God's Eye, The 

(74) CD.. 5444 

Mickey Rooney, Coleen Gray 

©Man Alone. (96) 5409 

53] A . 

Raj Mllland, Mary Murphy 

H§ Mystery of the Black Jungle 

(72) Ad. 5442 

Lex linker, .lane Maxwell 

S| No Man's Woman (70) . . . 5445 

Marie Windsor, Jului Archer 

m Secret Venture (70) ...D. 5443 

Kent Taylor, Jane Hylton 

51 Vanishing American, The 

(90) W. .5501 

Scott Brady. Audrey Totter 

s) Fighting Chance (70). D. 5532 

Rod Cameron, Julie London 

U ©Flame of the Islands 

(90) D..5502 

Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff, 

Zacharv Scott 

@ Jaguar (66) Ad. .5531 

Sahu. Barton MacLane 

iH Track the Man Down 

(73) D..5533 

Kent Taylor. Petula Clark 

W ©Doctor at Sea (92) ®.C..5504 

Dirk Bogarde, Brigitte Bardot 

113 When Gangland Strikes 

(70) Cr..5535 

Raymond Creenleaf, Marjie Millar 

[J] Hidden Guns (65) W. .5534 

Bruce Bennett, Richard Arlen 

. 5505 

51 ©Come Next Spring 

(92) 

Steve Cochran, Ann Sheridan 

©Magic Fire (90) DM 

Yvonne De Carlo, Carlos Thompson 

Stranger at My Door D.. 

M icdotlald Carey, Patricia Medina 

3Zanzabuku Doc . 

Lewis Cotlow"s African Trip 

©Maverick Queen (N) W. . 

Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan 

And Suddenly You Run My.. 

SCOtt Brady. Joan Vohs 

©Dakota Incident OD.. 

Linda Darnell, Dale Robertson 

©Lisbon (N) D. . 

Hay Mllland, Maureen O'Hara 

Man in the Road D. . 

Ella Raines, Derek Farr 

©Acapulco Story D . 

Ralph Meeker, Janice Rule 

©Adventures of Daniel Boone. Ad . 

Bruce Bennett. Lou Cbanes

] 

Parker, 

LoUobrigida. 

' inne, 

BOXOFFICE BookinGuide March 31, 1956 

. . D. 

D 

. 

. 

. 

Nov 

Feb 

Feb 

! 

White 

[las, 

i 

ml, 

D 

Mar 

. Oct 

Oct 

May 

Nov 

' 

Sep 

Sep 

m 

FEATURES 

John Ireland. Beverly Garland 

ARLAN 

Living North. The (74) Doc 

Filmed in Lapland: native cast 

ASSOCIATED FILM 

Last of the Desperados (72) W . Dec 55 

James Craig, Margla Dean 

Two-Gun Lady (76) W Dec 55 

Peggie Castle. William aim. '1 

INDEPENDENT 

. 

- 

. 

AMERICAN RELEASING 

EDEN 

Outlaw Treasure (67) W . . Jul 55 One Way Ticket to Hell (65) D 

John Forbes. Allele Jurgens 

Nun professional cast 

©Apache Woman (S3) W. Sep 55 

Lluvd Bridges, Joan Taylor 

EMBASSY 

Beast With a Million Eyes (78) . SF Oct 55 

Wiretapper (80) 

Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer 

Bill WiUlams, Georgia Lee 

D 

Oceration Malaya (65) Doc.. Oct 55 

Special c.isl 

Day the World Ended (80) (g). .SF. . Dec 55 

Menard Defining, Lorl Nelson 

Phantom From 10.000 Leagues 

(80) SF. Dec 55 

Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs 

Oklahoma Woman W FINE ARTS 

( . ) . If) Strangers (80) 0. 

Richard Denning, Peggie Castle 

in.i hi Bergman,

SHORTS 

CHART 

Short subjects, listed by company, in order of release. Running time follows title. First is national release 

month, second the date of review in BOXOFFICE. Symbol between dates is rating from BOXOFFICE 

review, + Very Good. + Good. ±l Foir. — Poor. = Very Poor. Photography: Color and process as specified. 

5 

.2 a; 

ID 

J. 

CCQ 

P14-6 Poop Goes the Weasel 

(6) Jul 55 ± 10-22 

(1955-56) 

P15-1 Rabbit Punch (6) Sep 55 + 12- 3 

P15-2 Little Audrey Riding Hood 

(6) Oct 55 -f 12- 3 

P15-3 Kitty Come ed (6) . . Dec 55 + 1-21 

PACEMAKERS 

K14-4 Five Hundred Horses 

(10) May 55 + 9-17 

K14-5 Florida Aflame (9) .Jun 55 + 10-22 

K14-6 Walk in the Deep (10) Jun 55 + 8-20 

P0PEYE CARTOONS 

(Technico'or) 

E14-6 Beaus Will Be Beaus 

(6) May 55 + 7-30 

E14-7 Gift of Gag (6) May 55 + 8-6 

E14-8 Car-azy Drivers (6) . Jul 55 + 10-22 

(1955-56) 

E15-1 Mister & Mistletoe (6) Sep 55 12- 3 

E15-2 Cops Is Tops (6'/ 2 > . . Nov 55 + 1-21 

E15-3 A Job for a Gob (6) .Dec 55 + 1-21 

E15-4 Hillb.lliiig 4 Cooing 

(6) Jan 56 + 1-21 

TOPPERS 

M15-1 Three Kisses (10) ...Oct 55 + 12- 3 

M15-2 Reunion in Paris (10) Nov 55 + 1-28 

M15-3 Animals a la Carte 

(10) Jan 56 ± 1-21 

VISTAVISI0N 

SPECIALS 

V14-3 VV Visits the Sun Trails 

(16) May 55 ff 12-10 

V14-4 VV Visits Hawaii (17) Jul 55 + 12-31 

V14-5 VV Vis ts Japan (17) .Aug 55 + 1-7 

UNICEF 

SPECIAL 

T14-4 Assignment Children 

(19) Mar 55 

REPUBLIC 

SERIALS 

5183 Panther Girl of the 

Kongo Jan 55 .... 

(12 Chapters) 

5484 Jesse James Rides Again Mar 55 .... 

(13 Chapters) (Reissue) 

5485 King of the Carnival. .Jun 55 

(12 Chapters) 

THIS WORLD OF OURS 

(Trucolor) 

5388 Venezuela (9) Mar 55 + 8-6 

RKO RADIO 

BROWN-KIRKWOOD RtlSSUES 

63.601 Heart Troubles (16). Sep 55 

63.602 Put Some Money in the Pot 

(17) Nov 55 

DISNEY 

CARTOONS 

(Technicolor) 

54.112 Flyhg Gauchito (8). Jul 55+ 8-27 

54,114 Beezy Bear (7) Sep 55 -f 10-22 

(Technicolor 

Reissues) 

54.109 Pedro (8) May 55 + 6-11 

54.110 El Gaucho Goofy (8). Jun 55 + 8-27 

54.111 Aquarela do Brasil 

(8) Jun 55 + S-20 

54.113 Bearly Asleep (7) . .Aug 55 ft 10-22 

EDGAR 

KENNEDY REISSUES 

63.501 No More Relatives 

(18) Sep 55 

63.502 How to Clean House 

(18) Oct 55 

63.503 Dig That Gold (17). Nov 55 

63.504 Contest Crazy (17) . . Dec 55 

GIL LAMB REISSUES 

63.301 Groan and Grunt (17) Sep 55 

63.302 Bashful Romeo (16). Oct 55 

LEON 

ERROL REISSUES 

63.701 Wife Tames Wolf (17) Sep 55 

63.702 Dad Always Pays 

(18) Oct 55 

63.703 Spook Speaks (19).. Nov 55 

63.704 In Room 303 (17). Dec 55 

MY PAL 

REISSUES 

63.201 Dog of the Wild (21) Oct 55 

63.202 Pal, Canine Detective 

(22) Nov 55 

RAY WHITLEY 

REISSUES 

63.401 Musical Bandit (16)0ct 55 

63.402 Bar Buckaroos (16). Dec 55 

SCREENL1NERS 

54.210 Staff of Life (8)... May 55 + 8-27 

54.211 Rest Assured (8) Jun 55 + 8-27 

54.212 Safety Is Their Business 

(8) Jul 55 + 9-17 

54.213 Film Fun (9) Aug 55 + 8-6 

(1955-56) 

54.201 Gold (10'/ 2 ) Sep 55 + 11-26 

64.202 Black Cats and Broomsticks 

(8) Oct 55 + 12-10 

64.203 Make Mine Memories 

(8) Nov 55 

64.204 Teenagers on Trial 

(8) Dec 55 + 1-14 

64.205 Her Honor, the Nurse 

(8) Jan 56 

64.206 Fortune Seekers (8) Feb 56 

SPECIALS 

53,107 Operation Icecap 

(19) May 55 4- 6-11 

(1955-56) 

63.101 The Future Is Now 

(15) Sep 55 

63.102 Golden Glamour (15) Oct 55 4 12-10 

63.103 Sentinels in the Air 

(15) Feb 56 

SPORTSCOPES 

54.310 Everglades Posse (S) . May 55 + 8-6 

54.311 Downhill Yachts (8). Jun 55 + 8-20 

54.312 Bowling Boom (8) . .Jul 55 + 8-20 

54.313 Tanbark and Turf (8) .Jul 55 + 9-3 

(1955-56) 

64.301 Game Warden (8).. Sep 55 + 10-22 

64.302 Gym College (8) Sep 55 4- H-26 

64.303 Bonefish and Barracuda 

(8) Oct 55 4- 12-10 

64.304 Canadian Carnival (8) Nov 55 + 1-14 

64.305 Headpin Hits (8) . . Dec 55 + 1-14 

64.306 Island Windjammers 

(8) Jan 56 

SPORTS SPECIALS 

63.901 Football Headliners 

(15|/2 ) Dec 55 + 1-14 

53,301 Devil Take Us (21) . .Jun 55 ft 6- 4 

THEATRE OF LIFE 

WILDLIFE 

ALBUM 

(Technicolor) 

63.001 The Whitetail Buck 

(27'/2 ) Oct 55 + 11-12 

20th CENTURY-FOX 

CINEMASCOPE SPECIALS 

(Color) 

7511-9 Co orado Holiday 

(10) May 55 

7512-7 Children of the Sun 

(7) May 55+ 8-27 

7514-3 Sorcerer's Apprentice 

(13) May 55 4 8-6 

7507-7 Tears of the Moon 

(10) Jun 55 ft 8-27 

7506-9 Land of the Nile (9) Jun 55 ft 7-23 

7517-6 Volcanic Violence (9) Jun ff 8-20 

7516-8 Wii.ter Jamboree (10) Jul 55+8-6 

7515-0 Naughty Mermaids 

(7) Aug 55 

7519-2 Survival City (10) Aug 55 + 8-20 

7518-4 That Others May Live 

(10) Sep 55 

7520-0 Gods of the Road 

( . . ) Sep 55 

7521-8 Desert Fantasy (8). Sep 55 +1-7 

7513-5 Clear the Bridge ( . . ) Oct 55 

7522-6 Water Wizardy ( . . ) Oct 55 

7523-4 Carioca Cami.al ( . . ) Nov 55 

7525-9 Queen's Guard (17) . Dec 55 

(1955-56) 

7601-8 Lady of the Golden Door 

(9) Jan 56 

7602-6 A Thoroughbred Is Born 

(9) Jan 56 

MEL ALLEN SPORTS 

3501-4 Topsy Turvy Thrills 

(8) Jun 55 + 8-27 

SEE IT HAPPEN 

6501-1 Man vs. Nature (9) Jun 55 + 8-27 

TERRYTOONS 

5501-3 Phony News Flashes 

(7) Jul 55 +1-7 

5511-1 Foxed by a Fox (7) Aug 55 + 1-14 

5512-9 Last Mouse of Hamlin, 

(7) Sep 55 

(1955-56) 

5601-0 The Clockmaker's Dog 

(7) Jan 56 

TERRYTOON-CINEMASCOPES 

(Technicolor) 

5531-9 Willie the Walrus in An Igloo 

for Two (7) May 55 + 8-20 

5532-7 Good Deed Daly (7) Jul 55 + 12- 3 

5533-5 Bird Symphony (7) Aug 55 ff 12- 3 

5534-3 Little Red Hen (7). Sep 55 +1-7 

(1955-56) 

5631-7 Park Avenue Pussycat 

1.7) Jan 56 

UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL 

CINEMASCOPE FEATUREXTE 

(Technicolor) 

2600 The Nat "King" Cole 

Musical Story (18) ff 12-10 

COLOR 

PARADE 

1385 King Salmon (9) Jul 55 + 8-27 

1386SwingHi-Swing Lo (9) Aug 55 + 8-27 

1384 The Big Test (10) Jun 55 + 10- 8 

1387 Dream Island (9) Sep 55 ± 11-19 

1388 Against the Stream (9) Oct 55 + 1-28 

(1955-56) 

2672 Fighters of the Lakes 

(9) Jan 56 .... 

2673 Blue Coast (9) Feb 56 ff 1-28 

MUSICAL FEATURETTES 

1309 Roundup of Rhythm 

(16) Jul 55 + 8-27 

1310 Eddy Howard and 

His Orchestra (14).. Aug 55 + 8-27 

1311 The Ink Spots (15).. Sep 55 + 11-19 

1312 The Sauter-Finegan 

Orchestra (IS) Oct 55 + 11-19 

(1955-56) 

2601 Mambo Madness (15) Nov 55 + 11-12 

2602 Ralph Marterie & His 

Orchestra (15) Nov 55 + 11-26 

2652 Melodies by Martin 

(16) Dec 55 + 1-28 

2653 Lionel Hampton & Herb 

Jeffries (15) Jan 56 + 2-18 

VARIETY 

VIEWS 

1345 Brooklyn Goes to 

Cleveland (10) Jul 55 10- 8 

1346 Monkey Shines (9) . .Aug 55 + 11-26 

1347 Brooklyn Goes to Las Vegas 

(. .) Sep 55 

1348 Small Wonders (..).. Oct 55 

WALTER LANTZ CARTUNES 

(Technicolor) 

1326 Private Eye Pooch (7) May 55 + 3-26 

)327Sh-h-h-h (7) Jun 55 

1328 Bedtime Bedlam (7) . Jul 55 

1329 Paw's Night Out (7) Aug 55 + 10-22 

1330 Flea for Two (6) Aug 55 + 8-27 

1331 Square Shootin' Square 

(6) Sep 55 + 8-27 

1332 Hot and Cold Penguin 

(7) Oct. 55 + 12-10 

1333 Bunco Busters (7) Nov 55 + 1-7 

(1955-56) 

2611 The Tree Medic (6).. Oct 55 + 11-12 

WALTER LANTZ REISSUES 

1354 Kiddie Koncert (7).. May 55 

1355 Pixie Picnic (7) Jun 55 

1356 Wacky Bye Baby (7) Jul 55 

WARNER BROS. 

3910 24-Hour Alert (30) U. S. Air 

Force Short (3 reels) ff 12-31 

BLUE RIBBON HIT PARADE 

(Technicolor Reissues) 

3301 Doggone Cats (7).... Sep 55 

3302 Rattled Rooster (7) . . . Oct 55 

3303 Fair and Wormer (7) Nov 55 

3304 Mousemerized Cat (7) Nov 55 

3305 Foghorn Leghorn (7) . Dec 55 

3306 Bone, Sweet Bone (7) Jan 56 

BUGS BUNNY SPECIALS 

(Technicolor) 

2727 Hare Brush (7) May 55 + 8-20 

2728 Rabbit Rampage (7).. Jun 55 ff 8- 6 

2729 This Is the Life (7).. Jul 55 

2730 Hyde and Hare (7).. Aug 55 + 10-22 

(1955-56) 

3723 Knight-Mare Hare (7) Oct 55 

3724 Roman Legion-Hare 

(7) Nov 55 + 1-28 

3725 Bugs Bonnets (7) Jan 56 

. 

. . 

CLASSICS OF THE SCREEN 

3101 Small Town Idol ( . 

. ) Sep 55 

3102 It Happened to You 

. ) Dec 55 

( 

3103 Dog in the Orchard 

( ) Nov 55 

COLOR 

SPECIALS 

2009 Festival Days (. .) . .Aug 55 

2010 Wave of the Flag (19) May 55 ff 

2011 Adventures of Alexander 

Selkirk (17) Jun 55 + 

2012 Uranium Fever (..).. Jul 55 

(1955-56) 

3001 Movieland Magic (. .) Oct 55 

3002 Golden Tomorrow (17) . Nov 55 

3003 Behind the Big Top 

(..) Dec 55 

7-30 

8- 6 

3004 They Seek Adventure 

(..) Jan 56 

JOE McDOAKES COMEDIES 

2405 So You Want to Be on a Jury 

(10) May 55 + 7-23 

2406 So You Want to Run a Model 

Railroad (10) Aug 55 + 10-22 

(1955-56) 

3401 So You Want to be a Vice- 

President (10) .... Oct 55 + 12-31 

3402 So You Want to be a 

Policeman (10) Dec 55 + 1-28 

MELODY MASTER BANDS 

(Reissues) 

(1955-56) 

3801 Jan Savitt & Band 

(10) Sep 55 

3802 Artie Shaw & Orch. 

. ( . ) Oct 55 

3803 Ozzie Nelson & Orch. 

. . ( > Dec 55 

MERRIE MELODIES— LOONEY TUNES 

(Technicolor) 

2717 Past Performance (7) May 55 + 8-20 

2718 Tweety's Circus (7) . .Jun 55 + 8-27 

2719 Lumber Jerks (7) Jun 55 + 9-17 

2720 Double or Mutton (7) Jul 55 

2721 Jumpin' Jupiter (7).. Aug 55 

2722 A Kiddie's Kitty (7). Aug 55 + 11-12 

(1955-56) 

3701 Dime to Retire (9).. Sep 55 ff 1-14 

3702 Speedy Gonzales (7).. Sep 55+ 1-7 

3703 Two Scents Worth (7) Oct 55 + 1-14 

3704 Red Riding. Hoodwinked 

(7) ..." Oct 55 

Heir Conditioned Nov 3705 (7) . . 

3706 Guided Muscle (7) Dec 55 

3707 Pappy's Puppy (7) Dec 55 

3708 One Froggy Evening 

(7) Dec 55 

3709 Too Hop to Handle 

(7) Jan 56 

SPORTS 

PARADE 

55 + 3-3 

2507 Riviera Revelries (10) May 55 + 7-30 

2508 Rocky Mountain Big Game 

(10) Apr 55 

2509 Italian Holiday (10) Jul 55 

2510 Aqua Queens (10) . .Aug 55 + 11-12 

(1955-56) 

3501 Picturesque Portugal (9) ± 1-7 

3502 Fish Are Where You 

Find Them (..)... .Jan 56 .... 

WARNER 

VARIETIES 

2606 Some of the Greatest (John 

Barrymore) (10) 

. 

2607 Gadgets Galore (10) Jul 55 

.Jun 55 -ff 8-6 

(1955-56) 

3601 An Adventure to Remember 

(9) Oct 55+ 1-14 

3602 Shark Hunting (9) Nov 55 

3603 Faster and Faster (9) Dec 55 

WARNERCOLOR SCOPE GEMS 

(Two Reel) 

3211 Journey to the Sea 

(18) Sep 55 ff 3- 3 

(One 

Reel) 

3220 Heart of an Empire 

(9) Sep 55 

3222 Ski Valley (9 Sep 55 

3221 Springtime in Holland 

(9) Dec 55 

INDEPENDENT 

Thursday's Children (22) 

British Information Service. 

Britain's Choice (14) (House of 

(Commons) British Information 

Service + 

Highland Journey (24) (Technicolor) 

British Information Service.. + 

Baby Long Legs (16) (World of Life 

Series) Noel Meadow + 

Arabesques (9) (UltraScope) 

Transatlantic + 

Fiesta in Seville (9) (UltraScope) 

Transatlantic 

Queen's Navy. The (20) 

British Information Service. 

Report on Love 

(15) Edward Kingsley. . . . 

Goya (20) Edward Harrison.... 

Grey Ghosts (21) 

British Information Service ± 1-14 

The Heart of England (20) Technicolor 

British Information Service. + 

The Rocket (17) British Information 

Service + 

Pantomimes (13) Go Pictures ff 

On the 12th Day (20) (Color) 

George K. Arthur ff 

ff 7-30 

9- 3 

9- 3 

9- 3 

9- 3 

+ 9-3 

± 1-14 

ft 12- 3 

+ 12-10 

1-21 

1-21 

1-21 

3- 3 

( 

10 BOXOFFICE BoolcinGuide : 

: March 

31, 1956

— 

2-XHIB ITOR HAS HIS SAY 

ABOUT PICTURES! 

ALLIED ARTISTS 

Annapolis Story, An (AA) — 

Joan Derek, Diana Lynn, Kevin 

McCarthy. Best Thursday, Friday 

and Saturday since last fall, 

and seemed to please. Weather: 

Okay.—Ben Spainhour, Twilight 

Theatre, Greensburg, Kas. Pop. 

1,723. 

Tonight's the Night (AA)— 

David Niven, Yvonne DeCarlo, 

Barry Fitzgerald. What a comical 

Technicolor story of a young 

Englishman, David Niven, who 

inherits a small Irish village and 

turns out to be not the proper 

kind of squire. Yvonne DeCarlo, a 

sultry divorcee, is after Niven's 

money and Barry Fitzgerald, an 

old servant, leads a plot of the 

townspeople after his hide. This 

is really clever; though, alas, 

business wasn't. Played Tues., 

Wed. Weather: Warm. — Lew 

Bray jr., Queen Theatre, McAllen, 

Tex. Pop. 20,068. 

BUENA ViSTA 

Lady and the Tramp (BV>— 

Another Disney 

Cartoon feature. 

full-length feature that drew average 

business. Short subject on 

"Switzerland" worth admission 

in itself. Voices in feature very 

good. Very clear photography. 

Picture held focus very well. 

Played Sun., Mon., Tues.—D. W. 

Trisko, Runge Theatre, Runge, 

Tex. Pop. 1,055. 

COLUMBIA 

It Came From Beneath the Sea 

(Col) — Kenneth Tobey, Faith 

Domergue, Donald Curtis. One 

of the better science fiction entries. 

It looked realistic and 

brought out plenty of squeals. 

Business is still way below sea 

level—the real sea, that is. 

Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold. 

—Ralph Raspa, State Theatre, 

Rivesville, W. Va. Pop. 1,343. 

Man From Laramie, The (Col) 

—James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, 

Donald Crisp. In my estimation, 

this is one of James 

Stewart's best. If we had more 

pictures like this we wouldn't 

worry about TV. Played Thurs., 

Fri., Sat. Weather: Good.—W. C. 

Mosher, Blue Moon Theatre, Blue 

Mound, Kas. Pop. 424. 

Prize of Gold, A (Col)—Richard 

Widmark, Mai Zetterling, Nigel 

Patrick. A worse than usual 

NSS trailer hurt more than it 

helped and this one didn't get as 

much attention from the fans as 

it otherwise deserved. It's a nicely 

cast, beautifully produced English 

production, with a story that 

borders on the fantastic. Through 

no fault of our film fare, business 

wasn't what it should have 

been. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: 

Snow and chilly.—Bob Walker, 

Uintah Theatre, Fruita, Colo. 

Pop. 1,463. 

Ten Wanted Men (Col>—Randolph 

Scott, Jocelyn Brando, 

Richard Boone. That's what we 

wanted, too—ten men to buy a 

ticket. Scott Just does not draw 

here. "Too old and gray," "too 

young a gal," is the comment. 

The picture is just the usual 

Scott. Played Fri., Sat.—Joe and 

Mildred Faith, Linn Theatre, 

Linn, Mo. Pop. 758. 

Three for the Show (Col) — 

Betty Grable, Jack Lemmon, 

Marge and Gower Champion. 

Missed the boat, and Betty Grable 

looks sort of fat in this one. 

Played Tues., Wed. Weather: 

Cold and cloudy.—Terry Axley, 

New and Best theatres, England, 

Ark. Pop. 2,136. 

Three Stripes in the Sun (Col) 

—Aldo Ray, Phil Carey, Dick 

York. Maybe it was a good show. 

Columbia said it was, and they 

have been in the business longer 

than I have. Not too many of my 

patrons gave themselves the opportunity 

of knowing. Lowest 

February gross on my records. 

C. J. Otts, Wakea Theatre, 

Waskom, Tex. Pop. 719. 

A Hit in Africa 

River of No Return (20th- 

Fox)—Robert Mitchum, Marilyn 

Monroe, Rory Calhoun. 

Played this late, but we filled 

every performance. Mitchum 

and Monroe make a fine team. 

Although the story was a little 

corny, CinemaScope, color and 

action made up for that. I see 

Fox actually took my advice 

and gave Monroe a part other 

than her hip-dislocating walkon, 

walk-off parts. Surprise to 

all our patrons. Monroe looks 

and acts good in this one. As 

a matter of fact, she's as sexylooking 

in jeans as she is in the 

cheese-cake pinups. Recommended 

for all houses. 

DAVE S. 

Astra Theatre 

Kltwe-Nkana 

Northern Rhodesia. 

Africa 

KLEIN 

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER 

(MGM)—Kath- 

Kiss Me Kate 

ryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann 

Miller. This big budget epic 

meant very little to our boxoffice, 

even including a holiday date. 

Basic complaint from several 

patrons (ours is a semiart house) 

was expurgated lyrics which removed 

a great deal of the boisterous 

quality of the originals. Grayson, 

too, was almost hammy. At 

the boxoffice this isn't "As You 

Like It." Played Mon., Tues., 

Wed. Weather: Rain, snow and 

sleet.—T. Ross, Bay Theatre, 

Vancouver, B. C. City suburban 

patronage. 

Last Time I Saw Paris, The 

(MGM)—Elizabeth Taylor, Van 

Johnson, Walter Pidgeon. Another 

Van Johnson great. This is 

a picture for from the youngest 

to the oldest. It's one that will 

pay any theatre owner to show. 

Played Sun.. Mon. Weather: 

Cloudy and cool.—Ray Kincade, 

Ktesner Theatre, LeRoy, Kas. Pop. 

695. 

Love Me or Leave Me (MGM) 

Doris Day James Cagney, Cameron 

Mitchell. We played this 

during the "monsoon" period. It 

rained both days and the gross 

was very, very low, but It sure 

was enjoyed by the few who 

came out to see it. Cagney and 

Doris sure did a hangup job and 

Cameron Mitchell outacted them 

both. Played Wed., Thurs. 

Weather: Rain.—W. S. Funk, 

Star Theatre, St. Stephen, S. C. 

Pop. 1,341. 

Men of the Fighting Lady 

(MGM)—Van Johnson, Walter 

Pidgeon, Louis Calhern. I would 

say a very good picture, and it 

seemed to be well liked here. 

Very few people saw it, because 

of bad weather conditions, so, I 

did very poorly. I think it would 

do all right under fair conditions. 

Played Fri., Sat. Weather: 

Cold, roads blocked.—F. L. Murray, 

Strand Theatre, Spiritwood, 

Sask. Pop. 355. 

Scarlet Coat, The (MGM) — 

Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, 

Anne Francis. A swell picture, 

great and impressive story. One 

of our high school girls told me 

they "didn't study that stuff in 

school anymore." Cinemascope 

photography was beautiful. The 

picture was well liked by those 

enticed into seeing it. Surprisingly 

enough, doubters were as 

pleased as the rest. Played Sun., 

Mon. Weather: Cool.—Carl W. 

Veseth, Villa Theatre, Malta, 

Mont. Pop. 2,095. 

PARAMOUNT 

Seven Little Foys, The (Para) 

—Bob Hope, Milly Vitale, George 

Tobias. I'll take seven more like 

this one. Great. Bob Hope was 

the star, but I swear it was Eddie 

Foy. If Bob keeps it up, he may 

some day give Crosby competition. 

No attendance. Played Sun., Mon. 

Weather: Cold. — Ralph Raspa, 

State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. 

Pop. 1,343. 

To Catch a Thief (Para)— 

Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie 

Royce Landis. A very good show. 

Business not so good. The dialog 

is a little difficult at times. The 

scenery in Vista Vision was beautiful 

and Grace Kelly usually 

draws well here. Played Wed., 

Thurs. Weather: Fair.—Audrey 

Thompson, Ozark Theatre, 

Hardy, Ark. Pop. 599. 

Ulysses (Para)—Kirk Douglas, 

Silvana Mangano, Anthony 

Quinn. The high school had just 

studied "The Odyssey" and we 

gave the teenage girls "old maid's 

permits" for Leap Year Day so 

we got a lot of teenagers out. 

Surprisingly enough, they were 

very quiet, so must have enjoyed 

it. The dubbing was not at all 

good, particularly for Penelope, 

who seemed to roll off rather 

complicated phrases without 

hardly opening her mouth. I 

thought it smelled, but then I 

don't buy a ticket. Played Tues., 

Wed., Thurs. Weather: Good- 

Paul Ricketts, Charm Theatre, 

Hollyrood, Kas. Pop. 748. 

We're No Angels (Para)—Humphrey 

Bogart, Joan Bennett, Aldo 

Ray. I wasn't expecting anyone. 

so I wasn't disappointed. However, 

I was really surprised at the 

comedy content of this picture. 

Excellent movie fare. Played Sun., 

Mon. Weather: Cold. — Ralph 

Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, 

W. Va. Pop. 1,343. 

You're Never Too Young (Para) 

—Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, 

Diana Lynn. These boys don't do 

for me what they used to. Good 

Sunday matinee, but that did it. 

Played Sun., Mon. Weather: 

Clear and cold.—Terry Axley. 

New and Best theatres, England, 

Ark. Pop. 2,136. 

RKO RADIO 

Escape to Burma (RKO)—Barbara 

Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, 

David Farrar. They must have 

all gone to Burma during the two 

days I showed this action story. 

A couple more Sunday-Mondays 

like this and I'm closing! Played 

Sun., Mon. Weather: Fair- 

Ralph Raspa, State Theatre, 

Rivesville, W. Va. Pop. 1,343. 

Escape to Burma (RKO)—Barbara 

Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, 

David Farrar. This didn't get any 

unfavorable comments, so I guess 

the better than average crowds 

that were money hungry and 

liked the lure of the dollar signs 

out front went home satisfied. 

It's a fairly nice little jungle 

feature with a surprise ending 

that should go over in most 

action spots. Played Wed.. Thurs. 

Weather: Sunny and chilly.—Bob 

Walker, Uintah Theatre, Fruita, 

Colo. Pop. 1,463. 

Treasure of Pancho Villa, The 

(RKO)—Rory Calhoun, Shelley 

Winters, Gilbert Roland. Played 

this Superscope western flat with 

three cartoons. This is Technicolor 

(what else?) and will bring 

home the bacon with anyone's 

best hoss opera fans. Displayed 

Pancho's "treasure chest" inside 

and out for a week in advance 

and used extra paper for bread 

and butter. If you have a good 

draw of Latin Americans, don't 

miss this. Played Sun., Mon. 

Weather: Hot. — Lew Bray Jr., 

Queen Theatre, McAllen, Tex. 

Pop. 20,068. 

Hits Jackpot 

Kentuckian, The (UA)—Burt 

Lancaster, Dianne Foster, Diana 

Lynn. It's a wondrous 

thing to get a small-town natural. 

If it's a bang-up good 

western, it matters not if it's 

six months old or six years, the 

small town patronage welcomes 

the showing. They like violence, 

but not that which is dispensed 

every day in the news. Guess 

they" had rather feel it was a 

part of the long ago. Anyway. 

a western, if it's in Technicolor, 

hits the jackpot every time. 

Wakea Theatre 

Waskom, Tex. 

REPUBLIC 

C. J. OTTS 

Hell's Outpost (Rep)— Rod 

Cameron, Joan Leslie. John Russell. 

Due to his TV detective 

series, Mr. Cameron may help 

draw on this one, but the picture 

is very ordinary and should be 

double-billed. Played Fri., Sat. 

Weather: Fair and oold.—Joe and 

(Continued on following 

page) 

BOXOFFICE BoolcinGuide :: March 31, 1966 11

— 

THE 

EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY 

SHORT SUBJECT 

REVIEWS 

(Continued from preceding page> 

Mildred Faith, Linn Theatre, 

Linn, Mo. Pop. 758. 

Quiet Man, The (Rep) — Reissue. 

John Wayne, Maureen O'- 

Hara, Barry Fitzgerald. Third 

time around to standing room 

only. I love this film so much. 

I'm going to ask the renters to 

let me have one for a standby and 

once every month will screen it. 

I could give it no better recommendation. 

In my opinion, one of 

the best ever! Try it again if you 

want to play something good. 

Played Sun. Mon.,Tues. Weather: 

Wet. — Dave S. Klein, Astra 

Theatre, Kitwe-Nkana, Northern 

Rhodesia, Africa. Mining, business 

and government patronage. 

20th 

CENTURY-FOX 

Demetrius and the Gladiators 

(20th-Fox>—Victor Mature, Susan 

Hayward, Jay Robinson. Just 

can't seem to figure out what 

makes the exchanges click. Played 

"The Robe" at percentage and 

was not worth it. Then got this 

on flat rate and it's twice as good. 

After percentage on "The Robe," 

maybe they did not have the 

heart to charge us percentage on 

this one. Played Wed. - Sat. 

Weather: Mild with snow. — 

Harold Bell, Opera House, Coaticook. 

Que. Pop. 6,341. 

Love Is a Many-Splendored 

Thing (20th-Fox) —William 

Holden, Jennifer Jones, Torin 

Thatcher. Our best time was 

wasted, evidently because no one 

wanted to see this picture, one 

that surely merited average or 

better. But we had to take a loss. 

I guess people just have too many 

other things to do, and don't 

want to see good pictures. This is 

a good picture, had wonderful 

locale, and scenery was real and 

beautiful. So, if they won't buy 

quality merchandise, then I'll 

have to take an enforced vacation, 

and I think I would rather 

enjoy that. Played Sun.-Tues. 

Weather: Cold.—Mayme P. Musselman, 

Roach Theatre, Lincoln, 

Kas. Pop. 1,636. 

Soldier of Fortune (20th-Fox) 

—Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, 

Michael Rennie. A good cast, nice 

color, stretched print, wonderful 

locale shots and a story tailored 

to Gable's measure gave this 

feature everything but customers 

to see it. Business smelled. Fox 

sold it flat, so I got stuck, and 

I'm supposed to get goose pimples 

over the thoughts of getting re- 

Scoped for 55. Baloney. Played 

Fri., Sat. Weather: Lovely.—Bob 

Walker, Uintah Theatre. Fruita, 

Colo. Pop. 1.463. 

UNITED ARTISTS 

Kentuckian, The (UA)—Burt 

Lancaster, Dianne Foster, Diana 

Lynn. A real buy for town and 

coi :. ry as it truly depicts country 

life, and in a wonderful setting 

and color. You will absolutely not 

go wrong on this one. Played 

Sun., Mon. Weather: Windy and 

cloudy—Ray Kincade, Kesner 

Theatre, LeRoy, Kas. Pop. 695. 

Little Kidnappers, The (UA)— 

Duncan Macrae, Jean Anderson, 

Adrienne Corri. First reaction 

when seeing the first ten minutes 

of this subject was, "Well, what 

have I done to my people now?" 

But after sitting down and getting 

thoroughly enchanted with 

the picture and story and the 

"kidnappers," and watching the 

audience so taken that no candy 

or popcorn was purchased during 

the entire picture, I was satisfied 

that here was one swell picture 

and the patrons told me so. 

Played Tues., Wed. Weather: 

Coolish— 15 below zero.—Carl W. 

Veseth, Villa Theatre, Malta, 

Mont. Pop. 2,095. 

Man With the Gun (UA)— 

Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, 

Henry Hull. Above average business 

on a dern good show. Played 

Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Okay. 

—Ben Spainhour, Twilight Theatre, 

Greensburg, Kas. Pop. 1,723. 

UNIVERSAL-INTERN'L 

Foxfire (U-D—Jane Russell, 

Jeff Chandler, Dan Duryea. 

Jeff 

Chandler gets me deeper in the 

red each time I feature one of his 

films. Even Jane Russell failed 

to help. Played Sun., Mon. 

Weather: Cold.—Ralph Raspa, 

State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. 

Pop. 1,343. 

Foxfire (U-I)—Jane Russell, 

Jeff Chandler, Dan Duryea, 

Miss Russell's clothes fit tighter 

than Lady Godiva's bare skin and 

show about as much, but the 

people like it and so do I. Drew 

a good crowd both nights and is 

a pretty fair picture. Beautiful 

color. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: 

Fair.—Joe and Mildred Faith, 

Linn Theatre, Linn, Mo. Pop. 

758. 

Francis in the Navy (U-I) — 

Donald O'Connor, Martha Hyer, 

Richard Erdman. When my 

farmers can no longer tune in 

Francis, it's time to send her to 

the Red Heart company. Francis, 

the Kettles, Abbott and Costello 

and Martin and Lewis used to be 

big deals in small towns. They 

now give me my low, low grosses. 

—W. S. Funk, Star Theatre, St. 

Stephen, S. C. Pop. 1,341. 

WARNER BROS. 

Hell on Frisco Bay (WB)-Alan 

Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, 

Joanne Dru. A good date insured 

good business. When a picture 

like "Frisco Bay" outgrosses 

"Mister Roberts," it can mean 

only one thing: small towns could 

still have good grosses if there 

were sufficient prints to service 

them before they have played all 

the second and fourth runs in 

nearby big towns who advertise 

"whole family 40 cents" . . . 

"every night is teentime," "bring 

your date free," etc. Played Sun., 

Mon.—C. J. Otts, Wakea Theatre, 

Waskom, Tex. Pop 719. 

Illegal (WB) — Edward G. 

Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe. 

A truly great picture of 

truth, action and life. In other 

words, a true to everyday life 

drama in which Edward G. 

Robinson is at his very best. 

Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Windy 

and cool.—Ray Kincade, Kesner 

Theatre, LeRoy, Kas. Pop. 695. 

Columbia 

Florida Fin-Antics 

(World of Sports) 9 Mins. 

GOOD. Sports commentator, Bill Stern, handles the mike during 

a camera expedition to the waters off Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 

where we see some exciting dolphin fishing. This will be appreciated 

by all sports lovers. 

Around the World Revue 

Univ.-Int'l 

(Musical Featurette) 16 Mins. 

GOOD. Talented artists representing different nationalities 

render songs against the backgrounds of several nations. They are 

Beryl Davis, the Collins Kids, Bernard Hilda, Paule des Jardin, 

Nancy Umeki, Toy and Wing, Dani Crayne, Tony Vincent and Eddie 

and the Commanders. The songs are of the popular type. 

Univ.-Int'l 

Brooklyn Goes to Las Vegas 

(Variety View) 9 Mins. 

GOOD. Interesting scenes of the fabulous gambling center of 

Las Vegas as seen and narrated by a character with a pronounced 

Brooklyn accent who finally gets homesick. There are also shots 

of Jeff Chandler, Marilyn Monroe, the Ritz Brothers and Joe E. 

Lewis. 

Univ.-Int'l 

Chief Charlie Horse 

(Walter Lantz Cartune) 6 Mins. 

GOOD. A bit of hilarity involving a sheriff in pursuit of an 

outlaw Indian, a cigar store Indian being carved by Woody Woodpecker 

and a handsome reward for the capture of the outlaw. 

Woody collects, loses and again collects the reward by turning 

over his wooden figure. 

Univ.-Int'l 

Queens of Beauty 

(Color Parade) 10 Mins. 

GOOD. Intimate shots of the beautiful girls of many nations 

who competed for the title of Miss Universe at Long Beach, Calif. 

Hillevi Rombin, "Miss Universe of 1956," and Miriam Stevenson, 

winner in 1955, are featured, but there is plenty of footage given to 

the runnersup. 

Univ.-Int'l 

Small Wonder 

(Variety View) 9 Mins. 

GOOD. Touching scenes of small animals as the household pets 

of children. The film should appeal equally to young and old. 

There are a doe and a hamster as well as small lizards and a 

miniature dragon. Parker Fennely narrates effectively. 

Warner Bros. 

Bugs' Bonnets 

(Bugs Bunny Special) 7 Mins. 

GOOD. Much imagination figured in the development of this 

somewhat insane short. There are Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd 

as usual, but there the likeness to earlier ones in the series ends. 

The van of a theatrical company loses a lot of hats, and as Bugs 

and Elmer try them on, each assumes the character of the hat and 

becomes alternately the dominant and the lesser personality. 

Warner Bros. 

Out of the Desert 

(Color Special) 

19 Mins. 

VERY GOOD. A splendid example of how a travelog should 

be done. The backgrounds, which include the Sphinx and Pyramids, 

are old stuff in films, but the treatment of them is about 

the best ever seen. The fine WarnerColor and especially the selection 

of shoot angles make all the difference in the world. After the 

desert scenes come scenes of Cairo and Egyptian youth. They are 

entertaining every moment—and many of them are outright 

beautiful. 

Warner Bros. 

So You Think the Grass Is Greener 

(Joe McDoakes Comedy) 

10 Mins. 

GOOD. An odd but entertaining yarn of how Joe dreams he has 

divorced his nagging but competent wife and has married the 

office blonde who likes hen parties and is not at all domestic. At 

the end, he joyously "returns" to his wife who, it is obvious, 

wouldn't nag without good cause. Not one of the best McDoakes 

films, but still fun. 

Warner Bros. 

Weasel Stop 

(Looney Tune Cartoon) 7 Mins. 

FAIR. Somewhat forced humor involving a tiny weasel, a loudmouthed 

barnyard rooster and a sleepy dog which is supposed to 

guard the henyard. The rooster sicks the dog on the weasel and 

vice versa in a number of routine chases, but winds up by losing 

all its feathers in a hay baling machine. 

c 

12 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide March 31, 1956

— 

Para 

AA 

An interpretive analysis of lay and tradepress reviews. The plus and minus signs indicate 

degree of merit. Listings cover current reviews, brought up to date regularly. This department 

serves also as an ALPHABETICAL INDEX to feature releases. Symbol (J denotes 

BOXOFFICE Blue Ribbon Award Winner. Photograpry: O Color; C CinemaScope; V Vista- 

Vision; s Superscope. For listings by company, in the order of release, see Feature Chart. 

Review 

digest 

AND ALPHABETICAL INDEX 

Very Good; + Good; — Fair; — Poor; — Very Poor. In the summary ff is rated 2 pluses, — os 2 minuses. 

f s 

- la 

£3 

:X(X IL£|ZO 

S 

E 

E 

31 

1763 Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy 

(79) Comedy U-l 5-7-55 + 

1784 ©Adventures of Sadie (86) Com. 20th- Fox 6- 4-55 ± 

1821 OQAfrican Lion (73) Documentary .. BV 8-13-55 + 

1780 ©Ain't Misbehavin' (81) Musical U-l 5-28-55 + 

©Alexander the Great (. .) © Drama. UA 

1868 ©All That Heaven Allows (89) Drama. U-l 10-29-55 ft 

1769 Angela (81) Drama 20th-Fox 5-21-55 + 

1916 ©Anything Goes (108) (J) Musical .. Para 1-21-56 tt 

1824 Apache Ambush (67) Western Col 8-13-55 ± 

1857 ©Apache Woman (83) Western ARC 10-15-55 ± 

1875 ©Artists and Models (109) V Com. Para 11-12-55 + 

1891 ©At Gunpoint (90) © Western AA 12-10-55 + 

©Away All Boats (..) ® Drama. U-l 

— B 

1941 ©Backlash (92) Western U-l 3- 3-56 + 

1931 Battle Stations (81) Drama Col 218-56 ± 

1847 Bengazi (78) ® Adventure RKO 9-24-55 ± 

1898 VQBenny Goodman Story (125) Mus. .U-l 12-17-55 tt 

1927 Betrayed Women (70) Melodrama AA 2-11-56 ± 

1808 Big Bluff. The (70) Drama UA 7-16-55 + 

1845 Big Knife, The (111) Drama UA 9-24-55 + 

1956 Birds and the Bees (95) .»; Com. /Mus. . 

3-31-56 4 

1847 ©Blood Alley (115) © Drama WB 9-24-55 + 

1876 Bobby Ware Is Missing (66) Drama. . 

11-12-55 ± 

1933 Come On. The (82) © Drama AA 2-18-56 ff 

1940 ©Conqueror, The (111) © Drama RKO 3- 3-56 ff 

1846 ©Count Three and Pray (102) © Dr. Col 9-24-55 + 

1925 ©Court Jester. The (101) ? Com... Para 2- 4-56 ff 

1849 Court Martial (105) Drama Kingsley 10- 1-55 + 

1890 ©Court- Martial of Billy Mitchell 

(100) © Drama WB 1210-55 + 

Crashing Las Vegas (63) Comedy AA 

1772 Crashout (90) Crime Filmakers 5-21-55 ± 

1947 Creature Walks Among Us, The 

(92) Science-Fiction U-l 3-17-56 + 

1792 Creature With the Atom Brain 

(70) Science-Fiction Col 6-18-55 - 

1945 Crime Against Joe (69) Mystery UA 3-10-56 ± 

1882 Crooked Web. The (77) Melodrama. . .Col 11-26-55 ± 

— D 

1762 {JQDaddy Long Legs 

(126) © Musical 20th-Fox 5- 7-55 ff 

1797 Dam Busters (101) Adv.-Or WB 7- 2-55 ± 

1764 Danger Is My Beat (77) Crime AA 5- 7-55 ± 

1771 ©Davy Crockett, King of the 

Wild Frontier (95)Adv.-Dr BV 5-21-55 -f 

1910 Oay the World Ended 

(80) © Science-Fiction ARC 1- 7-56 ± 

1781 Day to Remember, A (72) Comedy ... Rep 6- 4-55 ± 

Deadliest Sin, The (75) Drama AA 

1852©Deep Blue Sea (99) © Drama. 20th-Fox 10- 1-55 4 

1823 ©Desert Sands (87) © Adventure UA 8-13-55 ± 

1842 Desperate Hours, The (112) ® Dr...Para 9-17-55 4 

Devil Goddess (70) Adventure Col 

1901 ©Diane (110) 6 Costume-Drama MGM 12-24-55 + 

Dig That Uranium (61) Comedy AA 

1824 Divided Heart. The (89) Drama Rep 8-13-55 + 

1937 ©Doctor at Sea (92) V Comedy Rep 2-25-56 ± 

1797 Don Juan's Night of Love (71) Drama. Rep 7- 2-55 :t 

1876 Double Jeopardy (70) Action Rep 11-12-55 ± 

1846 ©Duel on the Mississippi 

— £ 

(72) Drama Col 9-24-55 • 

1954 Emergencey Hospital (62) Drama UA 3-24-56 + 

± + ± 

+ ft 

+ ± + 

ff 

ft 

+ + 

+ 

+ ± 

+ ± 

ff 

ff 

+ + 

+ + 

1953 Bold and the Brave (87) © Drama. RKO 3-24-55 + + ± 

1923 ©Bottom of the Bottle (88) © Dr..20-Fox 2- 4-56 + + + 

1942 Brain Machine. The (72) Drama RKO 3- 3-56 ± 

1812 Break to Freedom (88) Drama UA 7-23-55 + 

1799©Bring Your Smile Along (83) Mus.. Col 7- 2-55 — 

1930 Broken Star. The (82) Western UA 2-11-56 + 

—C— 

1936 ©Carousel (128) ©55 Dr./Mus. 20th-Fox 2-25-56 ff 

1827 Case of the Red Monkey (73) Drama.. UA 8-22-55 ± 

1912 Cash on Delivery (82) Farce RKO 1-28-56 + 

1799 Chicago Syndicate (86) Crime Col 7- 2-55 + 

1869 City of Shadows (70) Action Rep 11- 5-55 — 

1787 ©Cobweb, The (124) © Drama MGM 6-11-55 + + + 

1934 ©Cockleshell Heroes (97) © Drama. Col 2-18-56 ff ff 

1945 ©Comanche (87) © Outdoor UA 3-10-56 + + 

1925 ©Come Next Spring (92) Drama .... Rep 2- 4-56 ff + + + ff 

+ 

+ 

+ 

ff 

+ 

+ 

+ 

ff 

+ ff 

+ 

ft ± 

ft + 

ff ft 

ff + 

6+4- 

4+ 7+3- 

tt 9+1- 

± 6+6- 

+ 12+1- 

- 6+5— 

ff 10+ 

- 4+6- 

3+3- 

± 9+1- 

+ 9+ 

+ + ± 5+1- 

± + ± 6+4- 

± + ± ± 7+5- 

tt tt tt tt 14+ 

- 2+3- 

± — - 3+4- 

ff - + ff 8+1- 

1+ 

ff ff + + 9+ 

± 2+2— 

± ± 5+3— 

+ + ff + 8+ 

± + 4+3- 

+ ± + 5+1- 

+ ± ± - 5+5- 

± + 5+3- 

ft ff ff ft ff ff 14+ 

± ± 3+3- 

+ + 

+ ff ff 

ff ft ft 

+ 

+ ft 

ff 

+ 

+ 

ff 

ff 

ft 

6+5— 

+ 7+3- 

2+3— 

- 8+1- 

10+ 

± 6+1- 

9+ 

6+3- 

10+ 

+ 7+1- 

+ ± + 

tt tt tt tt tt 13+ 

ft + + 5+ 

ft ft ft ft ft ft 13+ 

+ + ± + ± 6+3- 

± + ± ± 5+4- 

- ± ± ± + - 4+6- 

± ± + + 5+3- 

± - ± - + + 5+5- 

ff + ft ft ff 1H 

ff + + ff + S+1-- 

- ± + 3 + 3 

± ± t H H f 10+2- 

± 

1779©Far Horizons. The (108) Y> Adv. . Para 

1808 Female on the Beach (97) Drama U-l 

1789 Finger Man (82) Crime AA 

1768 Five Against the House (84) Crime Col

— 

REVIEW DIGEST 

Very Good; + Good; - Fair; - Poor; — Very Poor. In the summary 

•• 

•S 3 

is rated 2 pluses, — as 2 minuses. 

1946 ©Ladykillers. The (93) Com.. .Cont'l Dis. 3-10-56 + 

Littlest Outlaw. The (75) Drama BV 12-24-55 ft 

1908C Lone Ranger. The (S6) Western WB 1- 7-56 + 

Lonesome Trail. The (73) Western. ... LP 

1822 ©Love Is a Many-Sclendored Thing 

(102) © Drama 20th-Fox 8-13-55 ft 

1777 ©Love Me or Leave Me 

(112) © Musical MGM 5-28-55 ft 

1649 Lover Boy (85) Com. -Dr. (Reviewed 

as "Lovers. Happy Lovers") . 

.20th-Fox 11-13-54 + 

1851 ©Lucy Gallant (104) ® Drama Para 10- 1-55 ff 

1943 Lum & Abner Abroad (72) Comedy. Howco 3-10-56 ± 

—M— 

1793 Mad at the World (71) Dr Filmakers 6-25-55 + 

1771 ©Magnificent Matador 

(93) © Drama 20th-Fox 5-21-55 + 

1848©Man Alone, A (96) Western Rep 9-24-55 + 

1933 ©Manfish (76) Adventure UA 2-18-56 + 

1798 ©Man From Laramie (104) © Wn. . .Col 7- 2-55 ft 

1895 Man With the Golden Arm 

(119) Drama UA 12-17-55 ft 

1862 Man With the Gun (83) Western UA 10-22-55 + 

1812 ©Man Who Loved Redheads (86) Com..UA 7-23-55 + 

1928 ©Man Who Never Was 

(103) © Drama 20th- Fox 2-11-56 ff 

1774 Master Plan, The (77) Drama Astor 5-21-55 ± 

1823 _ ©McConnell Story (109) © Drama. WB S- 13-55 ff 

1924 ©Meet Me in Las Vegas 

(112) © Musical MGM 8-13-55 ff 

1926 Miracle in the Rain (107) Drama WB 2- 4-55 ff 

1770 i, ©Mister Roberts (123) © Com....WB 5-21-55 ff 

1952 ©Mohawk (79) Outdoor 20th-Fox 3-24-56 + 

1767 ©Moonfleet (87) © Adventure MGM 5-14-55 + 

Mother-Sir ! ( . . ) Drama AA 

1838 C©My Sister Eileen (108) © Mus. ..Col 9-10-55 ff 

—N 

1814 ©Naked Dawn. The (82) Drama U-l 9-24-55 ± 

1871 ©Naked Sea. The (69) Doc RKO 11- 5-55 + 

1826 Naked Street, The (84) Drama UA 8-20-55 + 

1929©Never Say Goodbye (96) Drama U-l 2-11-56 + 

1827 Night Freight (79) Action AA 8-20-55 — 

1807 Night Holds Terror (86) Drama Col 7-16-55 ff 

1905 Night My Number Came Up, The 

(94) Drama Cont'l Dis. 12-31-55 + 

1815 Night of the Hunter (93) Drama UA 7-30-55 + 

1956 No Man's Woman (70) Melodrama Rep 3-31-56 ± 

No Place to Hide (72) Drama AA 

— — 

17-90 Not As a Stranger (135) Drama UA 6-18-55 ff 

1858 ©Oklahoma! (105) T-AO Musical. .. Magna 10-15-55 ff 

1802 ©One Desire (94) Drama U-l 7- 9-55 ff 

1944 ©On the Threshold of Space 

(95) © Drama 20th-Fox 3-10-56 ff 

1783 Othello (92) Drama UA 6-4-55 + 

1929 Our Miss Brooks (87) Comedy WB 2-11-56 + 

1938 Over-Exposed (80) Melodrama Col 2-25-56 ± 

— P 

1904 ©Paris Follies of 1956 (73) Musical.. AA 12-31-55 ± 

1S55 Patterns (83) Drama UA 3-31-56 + 

1803 ©Pearl of the S. Pacific (86) ©Adv.. RKO 7- 9-55 + 

1818 ©Pete Kelly's Blues 

(95) © Drama/Musical MGM 8-6-55 + 

1914 Phantom From 10,000 Leagues 

(80) Science-Fiction ARC 1-14-56 = 

Phantom of the Jungle (75) Adv LP 

1811 Phenix City Story (100) Drama AA 7-23-55 + 

1893 ©Picnic (115) © Drama Col 12-17-55 ff 

1934 Please Murder Me (76) Drama DCA 2-18-56 + 

1921 Postmark for Danger (77) Mystery.. RKO 1-28-56 ± 

1954 Price of Fear, The (79) Drama U-l 3-24-56 ± 

1905 Princess Cinderella (72) Comedy. .Carroll 12-31-55 — 

1898 Prisoner. The (94) Drama Col 12-17-55 ± 

1780 ©Private War of Major Benson 

(105) Comedy-Drama U-l 5-28-55 + 

1767 ©Prize of Gold (98) Adventure Col 5-14-55 ff 

1782 ©Purple Mask (82) © Adventure. . U-l 6-4-55— 

—5— 

1863 Queen Bee (95) Drama Col 10-22-55 + 

1862 ©Quentin Durward (101) © Adv.. MGM 10-22-55 + 

— R 

1896©Rains of Ranchipur (104) Dr..20-Fox 12-17-55 ff 

1909 Ransom! (104) Drama MGM 1-7-56 + 

1863 ©Rebel Without a Cause (111) © Dr..WB 10-22-55 + 

1927 ©Red Sundown (81) Western U-l 2-11-56 ff 

1S53 Return of Jack Slade (80) © Wn AA 10- 8-55 + 

©Revolt of Mamie Stover 

(. .) © Drama 20th-Fox 

1932 River Changes, The (91) Drama.... WB 2-18-56 + 

1796 ©Road to Denver (90) Western Rep 6-25-55 4+ 

1769 ©Robber's Roost (83) Western UA 5-21 55 + 

1950 Rock Around the Clock (77) Musical. Col 3-17-56 ±

\ 

| 

Opinions on Current Productions 

Feature reviews 

Symbol O denotes color photography; © Is ClnemoScope; Y VistaVlsion; 5 Superscape. For story synopsis on each picture, see reverse side. 

The Birds and the Bees F 2T R TS 

Paramount (5515) 94 Minutes Rel. May '55 

Ol' Lonesome George—Gobel. that is—whom a sizable 

share of television viewers fanatically acclaim to be the 

funniest man alive, makes his theatrical film debut in a 

lush and sprightly melange of light romantic comedy, welltailored 

to the demands of the spring exhibition season. i 

Gobel's popularity, the catchy title and a cast that includes f^_ 

several well-liked troupers constitute signposts pointing to V^ 

profitable business and pleased patrons in any and all situations. 

The pint-sized comic is his usual droll self, completely 

at ease in a part carefully fashioned to his capabilities. 

Among the customers who can take him or leave 

him alone, there probably will be some who will opine that 

talented and pulchritudinous Mitzi Gaynor, dazzlingly gowned 

and brimming over with sex appeal, comes perilously close 

to stealing the picture out from under Gobel's crew-cut 

thatch. From the physical standpoint, VistaVision and Technicolor 

bring clarity and warmth to the lavish backgrounds 

supplied in the Gomalco production by producer Paul Jones, 

while the directorial skill of veteran Norman Taurog extracts 

full measure from a script that runs the gamut from 

stand-up gags to all-out slapstick. 

George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor, David Niven, Reginald 

Gardiner, Fred Clark, Harry Bellaver, Hans Conried. 

fi i T? Ratio: Drama 

Lraby r 255i © o 

MGM (627) 97 Minutes Rel. Apr. 27, '56 

That granddaddy of wartime lad-encounters-lassie stories, 

"Waterloo Bridge," is back, bedecked in an opulent uniform 

of eye-filling Cinemascope and Technicolor, the chest of 

which is adorned with ribbons of cliches that proclaim its 

long service. Whether or not this version can expect the 

& |S1 - 

r-atronage that rewarded its previous appearances probably 

^TTwill depend upon how potent attractions process, tint and 

Leslie Caron prove to be. To today's theatregoers, especially 

the sizable sweat-shirt-'n'-sneakers contingent thereof, the 

film is very likely to look as dated as a Model T Ford, and 

to move at a pace further reminiscent of such venerable 

vehicle. They constitute the spectators who are conditioned 

to witnessing the lone pair of hackneyed situations around 

which no less than six scriveners constructed the screenplay 

as standard part-and-parcel of all war pictures— provided 

they are at all interested in any features of its classification. 

Topliner Caron, in a straight dramatic role, exhibits little of 

the charms of her delightful "Lili," while her co-star, John 

Kerr, is comparably hobbled by the undistinguished direction 

of Curtis Bernhardt, the photoplay's lack of tempo and the 

predominance of dialog. Edwin H. Knopf produced. 

Leslie Caron, John Kerr, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Talna 

Elg, Margalo Gillmore, Scott Mar'owe, Ian Wolfe. 

The Harder They Fall A £5 

Drama 

Columbia (827) 109 Minutes Rel. April '56 

A realistic, hard-hitting expose of the crooked prizefight 

racket, this picturization of Budd Schulberg's sensational 

novel of a few years back, will ilkve much of the impact of 

his more recent "On the Waterfront." While the brutal and 

bloody ring sequences and slight feminine interest will give 

it a stronger appeal to male patrons, Humphrey Bogart's marquee 

draw should insure big grosses generally. It's not for 

squeamish moviegoers. The screenplay by Philip Yordan, 

who also produced, stresses realism at all times, even to the 

extent that the character of the giant South American 

fighter who is given a phony buildup by an American pressagent, 

is roughly based on the ring career of Luis Firpo, 

the former heavyweight from South America. Director 

Mark Robson captures the atmosphere of the fight ring and 

the corrupt practice of "fixing" bouts in splendid fashion 

yet he also manages considerable sympathy for the naive 

giant, well-played by the seven-foot Mike Lane. Bogart 

contributes one of his solid tough guy portrayals and Max 

Baer and Jersey Joe Walcott, former heavyweight boxing 

champions, put their ring experience to good use. However, 

the outstanding performance is that of Rod Steiger. 

Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, 

Max Baer, Jersey Joe Walcott, Edward Andrews. 

No Man's Woman F Ratio: 

Republic (5445) 

1.S5-1 

Mystery 

Drama 

70 Minutes Rel. Oct. '55 

As a programmer for the supporting spot on the average 

dual bill—obviously the spot for which Republic intended 

its 70-minute features—this murder-mystery will satisfy 

most patrons. The leading players are all familiar, but 

without strong marquee draw. Following the pattern for 

pictures of this type, the director, Franklin Adreon, builds 

up the vicious, unsympathetic character of Marie Windsor 

to the extent that audiences might almost be inclined to 

hiss her and. after she is killed, throws suspicion on several 

characters who had reason to hate her. The identity of her 

murderer is not revealed until just before the finale. Miss 

Windsor, tall, cold and of striking appearance, is a. fine 

choice for the double-crossing female and Nancy Gates and 

newcomer Jil Jarmyn are attractive and capable in more 

sympathetic roles. John Archer does good work as the 

hero and Patric Knowles is well cast as an art critic. The only 

comedy relief is supplied by Percy Helton, as a high-voiced 

caretaker who finds the murdered woman's body. The 

screenplay is by John K. Butler from a story by Don Martin. 

Rudy Ralston produced. 

Marie Windsor. John Archer, Nancy Gates, Patric 

Knowles, Jil Jarmyn, Richard Crane, Louis Jean Heydt. 

$2 I 

( 

calif 

** 

Drama 

Patterns F "î 

United Artists (5612) 83 Minutes Rel. May '56 

An intensely dramatic, almost cruelly realistic, tale of 

the ruthlessness of big business, this picturization of the 

widely acclaimed TV show is powerful stuff—best suited to 

adult audiences, although there is nothing objectionable in it 

for general patronage. Van Heflin is the only real marquee 

name, but proper exploitation should draw those who saw 

the TV show early in 1955. Rod Serling, who wrote the 

original and the screenplay, has made the picture story even 

more true-to-life than was "Executive Suite" and Boris 

Kaufman's black-and-white photographic shots of Wall 

Street and its office buildings add to the authenticity. 

Fielder Cook, who directed the TV versions, makes a notable 

debut as a film director and he gets outstanding performances 

from Ed Begley, as the ailing vice-president who 

"\ fights and dies for his business principles; from Everett 

Sloane, as the shrewed and heartless corporation head, and, 

particularly, from Elizabeth Wilson, as Begley's loyal secretary—all 

of these having scored in the TV show. Heflin 

gives a forceful performance as do Beatrice Straight, as 

his helpful wife, and Joanna Roos, as Sloane's efficient 

secretary. This may not be pleasant fare—but it will be 

long remembered. Produced by Michael Myerberg. 

looks. 

Van Heflin. Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice StraigM, 

Elizabeth Wilson, Ronnie Welsh jr., Joanna Roos. 

Touch and Go 

F 

Ratio: 

Comedy 

1.85-1 © 

Univ.-Intl (5681) 85 Minutes Rel. 

Possibly this Ealing studios-Michael Balcon production, 

presented by J. Arthur Rank, can be most aptly described 

as a British version of what U. S. theatre and television 

audiences regard as light domestic comedy about the trials 

and tribulations of a typical middle-class family. And. 

except for the clipped accents—which, however, aren't at 

all difficult to understand—it follows the general pattern 

that has been established as standard for American-made 

pictures in the category. It is amusingly done and has been 

glowingly garnished with Technico or photography to make 

it a bright programming addition except in those spots where 

there is a strong antipathy toward celluloid imported from 

England The only cast name that is at all well known in 

this country is that of Jack Hawkins, wh,. has garnered himself 

a respectable following through appearances in a number 

of previous films that have enjoyed rather subsl 

circulation. Directed by Michael Truman, the offering 

reflects the typical British flair for meticulous castings and 

productional details, and the script is amply endowed with 

droll dialog and situations. Hawkins is expectedly competent 

and among the other players, a beauteous standout is one 

June Thorburn, effectively portraymg his teenage daui 

Jack Hawkins. M»rjar ct Johnston, Roland Culver, John 

Fraser, June Thorburn. James na>. ". Alison Legfatt 

The reviews on those pogos may be tiled for future reference In any of the following ways: (1) In ony standard 

SirVnSt 

loose-leof binder; (2) Individually, by company. In ony stondard 3*5 card index tile; or '3) In the BOXOFFICt kiciukc 

GUIDE three-ring, pocket-size binder. Tho lotter. Including ainq oa year's_ yoar 5 supply of or booking^ uuvMny and u„u daily ««„, outness „„»...,...- imM^MIili-. 

may bo obtained from Associated Publications, 82S Van Brunt Blvd., Kansas City 24, M»., for $1.00, postage paid. 

1956 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide : : March 

31. 1956 1955

FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis, Exploitips; Adlines for Newspaper and Programs 

THE STORY: •Gaby" (MGM) 

Leslie Caron, a French ballerina, and John Kerr, an 

American paratrooper, meet in London during the Nazi buzzbomb 

attack. They fall in love and plan to marry, but before 

they can do so Kerr's leave is cancelled and he is sent to 

the front. When Leslie is informed Kerr has been killed in 

action, she becomes embittered and embarks on a career of 

promiscuity. Then comes a cable from Kerr—wounded but 

alive. Realizing the sins of the life she has been leading/^ 2 

Leslie runs away after confessing to Kerr, but he pursues'- 

and forgives her. 

EXPLOITIPS: 

Sell this one as a compelling love story; remind audiences 

that in it Leslie Caron delivers a performance comparable 

to her work in the popular "Lili." Build up John Kerr as a 

romantic new male personality. Tie in with ballet schools. 

Miss Caron being an accomplished terpsichorean. 

c 1) 

Sear' 

THE STORY: "The Birds and the Bees" (Para) 

George Gobel, heir to meat-packing millions, returning 

to the U. S. aboard a luxury liner after a trip to Africa, meets 

three card sharks, David Niven, his daughter Mitzi Gaynor 

and Reginald Gardiner. George and Mitzi fall in love, but 

the romance falters when he learns she is a crook. Back in 

America, the vengeful Mitzi masquerades as a titled French 

girl, and George tumbles all over again—she thinks. On 

their wedding night George discovers she is after a huge cash 

settlement, but Mitzi. who really loves him, refuses to go 

through with the scheme. 

CATCHLINES: 

Nothing—Not Even a War-Torn City—Could Dim the 

Happiness of Two People in Love . . . Here Is the Unforgettable 

Story of a Girl Who Sinned Because of an Undying Love.

Opportunity for right man as exploiteer and 

iiagcr of first-run beautiful theatre in south- 

have plenty of experience in showhip 

and house management. Four weeks 

if light for job. salary jumps. Apply 

\ofliee. 7107. 

l Must 

I ami 

i tity 

i 

moth 

. $1,500 

One 

i Centralla. 

Bay 

I 

ensln 

R.TES: 15c per word, minimum $1.50. cash with copy. Four consecutive insertions for price 

: three. CLOSING DATE: Monday noon preceding publication date. Send copy and 

« answers to Box Numbers to BOXOFFICE. 825 Van Brunt Blvd.. Kansas City 24. Mo. • 

HELP WANTED 

Here is a real opportunity for aggressive shown 

ivho have the desire to work for a company 

iCh believes in hill promotion and exploitation of 

product. Employment is being offered to exjenced 

managers whose past perfoi mances have 

ibllshcd them as outstanding showmen. If 

Wanted: Capable protectionist for theatre in 

a town. Would consider man and wife 

iihiu.il iun for operating and cleaning. Year 

rod position. Employees know of this ad. 

rafllce, 7105 

Wanted: Capable manager for theatre in Iowa 

It town. Write full particulars age. exience. 

marital status, etc. Year around position. 

Snow of this ad. Boxoffice. 7106. 

POSITIONS WANTED 

'Couple. Wide 25 years experience. Handle all 

to scieen. Boxoffice. to concession, 

xoffice. 7096. 

Thoroughly experienced manager, interested in 

iiiim; theatre on percentage terms. Texas 

alion Boxoffice, 7100. 

THEATRES WANTED 

Theatres and drive-ins wanted! Texas, Colorado 

lahoma, Missouri. Kansas. Arkansas. Italph 

win, Broker, 1443 South Trenton. Tulsa 

De luxe drive-in wanted. 650 cars, minimum 

Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee. Illinois, 

cbig.ui. Forward complete details first letter. 

xoffice. 7095 

STUDIO AND PRODUCTION 

EQUIPMENT 

Auricon microphone booms, $170 value like 

iv, $119 50: Bridgamatic Jr. 16mm automatic 

value, $975: Maurer 16 camera. 

:' 

magazines, syncmotor. 12V motor 

nailery, all cases, complete $2,395: 5.000W 

rkgronnd projector, reconditioned, $595: Bard- 

MeAllstcr studio floodlites. :i heads on rollil 

hold 12 bulbs. $180 value. $295(1; 

idllte heads only, $4.95: stands only $19.95: 

no ni' editing tnblcs with vvorkllght. $5S value. 

s: , 

Moviola 35mm composite sound'picturc. 

pi "\ S II S Cinema Supply Corp. 602 

New York 19. 

DRIVE-IN THEATRE EQUIPMENT 

Drive-In theatre tickets. Send for samples of our 

cial printed stub rod tickets for drive-ins. 

re, distinctive, rasj to check. Kansas City Ticket 

I.. Ilepl. in. 199 W. 18th St, "Film Bow." 

8. Mo. 

Complete equipment and material for twin 

be-in. Filiation west Texas. Sell all or 

j.irntely very reasonable. Katherlne Klrkcby. 

Theatre, Abilene, Texas 

New Projectors, food wamier.. lenses, marquei 

ix 326. Si Ansgar, Iowa. 

EQUIPMENT WANTED 

Wanted; your old player pianos, organs, gas 

pcora machine Must be restorable. Boxoffice. 

Ml 

Marquee letters. Wagner. 7-lnrb t.ack. Box 977, 

m; 

\\ V i 

Wanted: G I 

used miniature train svilh 

iq meirv go M. mi. 1 Cash 'n Delltri I 

ate Theatre, Blhabelhtovn, K« 

REPAIRING 

Your vreakers (cones), mle er-unlts 

inrnsi complel Electronics 

\v. lent 

i . 3311 Houston Vi" ll.i.i 

i 

GENERAL EQUIPMENT—NEW 

Play Cinemascope "55"! Magnaphonic single 

channel magnetic sound complete. >7s5; cine 

nuiir adjustable anamorphics, $375 pair. Mlrro- 

( In ii: metallic seamless screens 75c sq. ft. Buy 

mi time Dept. cc. S.O.S. Cinema Supply Corp.. 

6112 W. 52nd St., New York 19. 

For sale: Super Simplex projectuis, $:;jii pail 

Bienkert B.\ 40's. $400 pair. RCA 9030 soundhead,, 

$600 pair. Bienkert Enaic lamps, S4S0 

paii. Ashcraft suprcx type I). $250. 18" magi 

zinc-, upper and lower, $60 per set. All prices 

F (II! Milwaukee. Units Theatre Management Co.. 

1210 W. Atkinson Ave., Milwaukee 6. Wis, 

The buy of a lifetime! Brand new ilulmes projectors, 

high serial numbers, will] magazines, 

lenses, cables, late amplifier and speaker I 

rebuilt 

like new). All for only $499.50. Don't pass 

this up! Star Cinema Supply. 621 West 55th s: 

New Yo.k 19. 

Kiddyride canvas tops manufactured in all 

colors. Send name and model of your ride. Tents 

and aluminum frames for concessions. Anchor 

Supply Co., Bvansville, Ind. 

For sale: Will sacrifice new air conditioning equipment 

! 5 II. P. 3-speed motor and control. Two 

water cooling coiis and blower for 700-seat theatre. 

One blower lor 400 seats. One deepvvell pump 

sn gallons per min. Write for details. Marches! 

Brothers Theatres, Amboy, 111. 

GENERAL EQUIPMENT—USED 

Excellent coated projection lenses, many brand 

new! Wollensak "Sunray" series I: 2", 3", 3%", 

3%". 5", 5^4", 5%". 6" 7%"—$35.00 pair. 

Super Snapilte H. 9-2" -8%" $170 pair; Super- 

" 

lite 2%" -3". -3%" $150 pair: Superlite 3V2 

$90 pair. Trades taken. Wire or telephone orde 

today. Dept. cc, S.O.S. Cinema Supply Corp . 

602 W 52nd St.. New York 19. 

Peerless maynarcs, excellent condition $395; 

reconditioned Neumade film cabinets 2,000', $2 

section; hand rewind $7.95 set. Dept. cc, S.O.S. 

Cinema Supply Corp., 602 W. 52nd St., New- 

York 19. 

For sale: 500 used electric in-a-car "Little 

Inferno Healers" in lots of 100-400 watt, 500 

watt. Y'our choice $10 each. Inquire. George 

Basle, Basic Theatres, Inc., 100 North Main 

Street, Washington, Penn. Terms. 1/3 down, 

balance COD. 

Complete equipment and all good! New projectors. 

American chairs, marquee etc. Must move 

Write f"i list and prices. Itoxy. St. Ansgar, Iowa. 

750 American Body-Form chairs. Will sacrifice 

at $5,00 each. Also have 800 Body-Form chairs 

like new at sacrifice price. Contact A, Wei-. 

1'. (1. Box 1036, Savannah. Ca. 

Truck load of equipment including pair Holmes, 

amplifiers, speakers, westerns, cartoons, powers, 

lows and Mazdas, 6 volt P. A., stands, all for 

$250. Box 537. Sulphur Springs. Ark. 

POPCORN MACHINES 

Popcorn machines, all makes and styles, lie 

plaeemi nt kettles for all poppers. Complete replacement 

unit fits most machines, $185. 120 So 

II. lis ted. Chicago, 111. 

INTERMISSION TRAILERS 

Mr. Exhibitor! We will sell merchants ads 

for intermission trailers to be exhibited in your 

theatie. Novel contest Incorporated in trailer, 

50-50 split. Write: Winco Theatre Representatives. 

It "\ 916. Battle Creek, Mich. 

THEATRE TICKETS 

Prompt Service. Special printed roll ticket* 

100.000, $28 75: 10.000. $8.95: 2.000. 14.95 

Bach change in admission price, Including change 

In color, $3.50 extra. Double numbering extra 

l" ii B Kansas ('Hi. Mo Cash »iih ordei K ins i 

City Tick.; Co., Dept. 11. 109 W. 18th St. 

Kansas City. Mo. 

THEATRES FOR SALE 

CL€flRinG HOUSE 

West coast theatres for sale. Write fo: ii-t 

Theatie Exchange, 260 Kearny St . San Francisco 

S. Calif. 

Theatres. Texas, Colorado. Missouri, Kansas 

and Arkansas. Italph Erwin. Broker. 1443 South 

Trenton, Tulsa. 

crested, 

rements, 

ervlevts 

send full 

previous 

Cleveland, 

resume including 

experience, 

New York 

salarj 

availability 

City, oi 

re 

for 

linmi 

Intermittent movements. New suiplus for Simplex, 

$69.50; DeVry. $59 50: Holmes, $24 50. For sale or lease. The Dual-lly Drive In. c 

in 

Automatic enclosed rewinds, 

W. 

$69.50. 

52ml 

Dept, ee, plete with Cinemascope. in Only drive-in Darlingtun, 

'l,]i. replies In C. W llnrwilz. Schille 

North Main South Carolina, population 9,000. For more 

4(1 St., Qloversvllle, S.O.S. Cinema Supply Corp., 602 si 

cull Inc. 

Voik 

New Yuik 19. 

Information write. Charles I. Truliick, Darlington. 

S. Car. 

OXOFFICE March 31. 1956 

Northern Minnesota. Beautiful buildblt 

-I'.iiv Cinemascope, Kidesercen with six re 

modern apartment. In resort and farming area 

Boxoffice, 7089. 

For sale: 200-car drive-in, south central Missourl, 

resort area, on federal highway. $7,500 will 

handle. Boxoffice, 7103. 

For sale or lease. Circuit of Ohio theatres, five 

drive-ins and twelve conventional theatres. Boxoffice. 

7104. 

Only theatre, small southern California army 

base town -Tin m:iI,. lease anil equipment. Full 

price $15,000. $10,000 handles long lease. Boxoifice 

7108. 

California theatre. S" miles trim I. A, Coastal 

Cinemascope. 350 seats. Low rent, no competition. 

$5,000 down. Boxoffice, 7109. 

For sale or lease, southern Illinois drive-in 

theatre on U. S. Itoute 40. Interested, write: 

A. P. List, Carlyle, III 

550-seat theatre, fully equipped, plus extras 

a-plenty. You can buy building, ground, all for 

as low as $50.00 per week. 20% down. By 

owner. Charles M. Schiller. 3508 McKinley Ave.. 

Tacoma 4. Wash. 

California theatre. Central coastal town. 500 

seats. Cinemascope. Family operation. 2 bedroom 

apartment and store. Approximate population 

7,009 and growing. No competition. (10,000 

down. Boxoffice, 7110. 

450-seat transit theatre. All modern with 

extra wide screen and Cinemascope. All mode, n 

booth, large snack bar. fully equipped, also all 

minimi home across street, and one rental. Popular, 

m 3, sun. All tin Sun, , terms Box all. 

Earlimart. Calif. Phone: 2981. 

Let's face it! Television is here to stay. Satellite 

stations, "boosters," and multiple community 

antennas assure the spread of television to most 

areas by I960. Through private channels, I have 

listed several top. fuUtime theatres which hare 

survived the inroads of primary television coveragi 

and are slill going strong. Investigate these selecl 

theatres which are still cranking away after 3 to 

G years in television areas. I have mctropo Itan 

theatres, drlve-lns, controlled towns, and competitive 

situations. Check it iroiir pleasure. Investigation 

invited Down payments from (2.000 

to ,, I, s: Ralph Erwin. The South; 

west's exclusive broker of theatres and radio-TV 

114'. South Trenton. Tulsa. 

THEATRES FOR LEASE 

, 

For lease: Estate owned noil-scat modem down 

town theatre. Area population 100,000 Oper 

ited 20 years with second run product Bin 

Trust t o i ity, Mich. 

BUSINESS STIMULATORS 

Bingo, more action! $4 50M cards. Other 

games available, on-off Screen. Novelty Cames Co.. 

106 Rogers Ave., Brooklyn. N. Y 

Build attendance with real Hawaiian orchids. 

Few cents each. Write Flowers of Hawaii. 670 

S. Lafayette Park Place. Los Angeles 5. Calif 

Biuno-die-ctlt cards. Increase your boxoffice. 

75 to 100 numbers. $4.50 per M. Best Cards 

Premium Products. 339 West 41lh SI . New York 

36, N Y, 

Bumper signs, Marilyn Monroe calendars. 

hundreds idvi rtlsl 

samples postpaid $2 B8 Details free. Mack 

111. 

Comic books, all new approved books. 24 titles, 

carton only $17 00. Balloons. 

Sales Co.. 4173 Third 

Avenue, New York 57. 

Want increased attendance? Our practical 

Grand Cone Sw sort 

ii 

58, N Y 

THEATRE SEATING 

Chair supehes. puts for all chairs, Fensin Seating, 

Chicago 5. 

Repairing and reupholstering in youi theatre. 

Feii-ui Beating, Chicago 5, 

New spring seats for all chairs, Feusin Seating, 

Chicago a. 

Patch-o-seat cement, permastone anchor cement. 

Beating, 

i lileago 5. 

Seat coverings, sewed combination, all stylr 

Kensbi Seating, Chicago 5. 

Plastic leatherette, all color-, semi 

Fensin Seating. Chicago 5. 

Upholstery fabiics. all tjpes. send sample 

I'riMii Seating, Chicago 5. 

I 

Professional reupholstering. Factor) trained crew. 

Flee estimate anywhere For sale 5, 

I 

g 

I : 

used chai.s. all types. iHll.Ksl'.Y K

' 

. 

wtefRaqamp 

your shows... 

REGENT 

NOW SHOWING 

4- 

REGENT 

NOW SHOWING 

REGENT 

NOW SHOWING 

/ OAN oSSsSE 

^ 

DAN 

J^D/MLE 

CY&. 

'• 

• 

î 

£ in 

STORE WINDOWS... 

. -.y- vs**-- •--_. 

...and ALL OVER TOWN! 

Attractive, silver-framed displays that add eye-catching 

color to any merchant's window or store... and 

pull-in patrons wherever they're seen. No wonder 

more showmen are cutting costs and eliminating 

The 14 x 22 

Displayaway 

a/so available 

in four additional sizes 

for hanging or standing 

on folding feet. 

imprinting headaches with Displayaways . . . the 

modern, inexpensive in and away-from-theatre 

advertising. 

nflTionflifkteea 

\J PRIZtBBBri SERVICE 

or rn€inousmy

Boxoffice-March.31.1956

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