DECEMBER

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L B A N Y
'Thz Times-Union, in an editorial on the
. .
tenth annual Denial week for the Variety-
Albany Boys club summer camp, urged:
"While we are getting ready to enjoy expensive
dinners on Thanksgiving day, let's
lay aside something to enable some worthy
youngster to spend two weeks under the
health influence of the camp leaders, with all
the physical and psychological advantages
of the camp life." The paper, along with
Tent 9 and the Boys club, has been sponsoring
an annual drive to provide summer
vacations for needy boys at Camp Thacher
on Thompson's lake." The camp is open for
eight weeks in July and August. The sponsors
"hope to be able to provide two-week
vacations for 400 boys . that will be possible
if the people of the area give $20,000 through
the Denial cartons to be found in stores
around the city this coming week."
The Times-Union ran a picture of Arthur
Newman, Republic manager, with a group of
Boys club members and cans for the Denial
Fabian's Grand broke advertising
week drive . . .
Sunday on the telecast of "Carmen"
by the Metropolitan Opera Co. December 11.
Prices ranged from $1 to $3.60. The Palace
and Leland are also plugging the telecast via
trailers and cards.
The Paramount, Glens Falls, staged a Saturday
morning children's show in which a
can of food was the admission. Tlie food
was given to Major Painter of the Salvation
Army for distribution to needy families
at Christmas. Schine's Rialto there held a
Friday morning kiddy show in a tieup with a
local top shop. George Pugh manages the
Thanksgiving, synonymous with
theatre . . .
generosity and plentitude, proved to be just
that for many theatres in this area. Warner
houses in Albany, Troy and Utica, for instance,
drew heavy business for morning cartoon
shows and fine patronage for regular
performances. The Strand registered its best
morning gross in five years, while the Madison
and Delaware reported capacity audiences.
The Stanley in Utica and the Troy in
Troy also collected substantial amounts on
pre-dinner exhibitions. Perfect weather prevailed.
Fabian's Palace, Grand and Leland will
conduct a giveaway of a Plymouth car the
night of December 17. The automobile is on
display in the Palace's inner lobby. Tieup
has been made with Berkshire Motors. Presence
in the theatre will be required for
winning.
Success crowned the Ford giveaway promoted
by the local Warner theatres with 11
Star supermarkets, capacity audiences being
reported at the Strand, Ritz, Madison and
Delaware. The 1,900-seat Strand had standees
in the orchestra and balcony, while the
Madison crowd overflowed into the lobby.
The Ritz and Delaware (arti also bulged
with anxious ticket holders. Zone Manager
Charles A. Smakwitz and John Trefiletti,
advertising director for the independent
stores, expressed pleasure with the results.
Smakwitz and Al LaFlamme, Strand manager,
handled the drawing on the Strand stage.
Marie Boucher, Rensselaer girl, won the car.
Gerry Schwartz, manager of the Rivcview
Drive-In and partner of Harry Lamont, called
the latter's offices from Orlando, Fla.
Schwartz said he might make a connection
with a Florida State theatre for the winter.
Drive-in screen painting, he learned, cannot
be done from December through March. They
delay refurbishing until spring. Schwartz,
former Seabee, is an expert on construction
and maintenance.
The telecast of "Carmen" at the Grand December
11 received an accidental but timely
publicity break when the Sunday Times-
Union ran a feature story on Clark Jones,
32-year-old Albanian who will direct closedcircuit
end of the Metropolitan Opera Co.
presentation. Jones, a director at WRGB,
Schenectady, for two years before advancing
to New York, visited his parents Mr. and
Mrs. A. R. Jones of McKownville for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
Trans-Lux Declares First
Dividend Since 1948
NEW YORK—Trans-Lux Corp. has declared
its first dividend since January 1948.
The board of directors reported November 25
it had voted a 15-cent dividend on the common
stock, payable December 18 to stockholders
of record Monday (8).
The management won out in a proxy battle
early in the year when a group of stockholders
charged mismanagement and noted a failure
to declare dividends. Later, the board
authorized the purchase of a total of 50,000
shares for the treasury to reduce the number
of shares outstanding, then totaling 660,000.
The next annual meeting will be held in
March 1953.
The Trans-Lux Granada on 72nd street
closed three weeks ago, but the company said
the closing was only temporary. No reason
for it was given.
E. A. Dickinson in Africa
NEW YORK—E. A. Dickinson, commercial
recording engineer for Westrex Corp., is now
in Johannesburg, South Africa, supervising
the installation of a Westrex type 635-A recording
channel and an M-4-D rerecording
and scoring console in the motion picture
studios of Alexander Films of South Africa,
Ltd. He will return here late this month.
Sequoia Productions has signed Edward
Binns, Broadway actor, for a supporting part
in "Harness Bull."
THE VISUAL APPROACH — Herb
Sheldon urging viewers before the TV
camera to see "The Quiet Man" at New
York neighborhood theatres.
Strike by SAG Against TV
Films Not Felt on Sets
NEW YORK—Although the Screen Actors
Guild, American Federation of Labor affiliate,
began a nationwide strike against producers
of filmed television commercials December
1, the effect of the strike will not be
apparent on home TV receivers for several
weeks. Most film commercials are made as
much as two months in advance and sponsors
have a considerable backlog on hand.
Sponsors are not prevented by the strike
from presenting live commercials, nor from
using filmed commercials made before the
strike.
SAG wants actors to be paid a royalty
every time a film commercial is used on a
TV network, instead of merely the original
payment, as has been the practice. The
strike, first in the 19-year history of SAG,
affects about 20 TV producers in Hollywood
and about 80 in New York, according to
Walter Pidgeon, new SAG president.
Meanwhile, two lATSE unions, the Motion
Picture Machine Operators, Local 306, and
the Film Exchange Employes, Local B-51,
are at odds over the recent practice of distributors
in having prints examined by projectionists
when they arrive at the theatres
instead of having them examined by exchange
film examiners. As a result, 20 examiners
were laid off in the New York
area recently. Appeals to Richard F. Walsh,
international president of lATSE, brought
the reply that distributors have the right
to reduce staffs for economy reasons.
Public Theatre Is Leased
For Spanish Film Policy
NEW YORK — Berk & Krumgold, real
estate brokers, have closed a long-term lease
for the 2,000-seat Public Theatre at 66 Second
Ave. for an aggregate rental of $400,000.
Harry A. Harris, who heads a circuit showing
Spanish language films, will use it for films
from Mexico. Spain and Argentina. It will
be renovated and redecorated. The lessor is
the Raynes Realty Corp., headed by Jules
Raynes.
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R & S THEATRE SUPPLY
920 New Jersey Ave., Washington, D. C.
ALBANY THEATRE SUPPLY CO
443 North Pearl St., Albany, N. Y.
SUN CARBON CO.
630 Ninth Ave., New York, N. Y.
PRODUCE A BETTER LIGHT
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BOXOFFICE December 6, 1952
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