Boxoffice-March.06.1948

. . England's
. . WPTZ
: March
PARAMOUNT OPENS IN ROCHESTER—Mayor Samuel B. Dicker of Rochester,
N. Y., is shown in the picture at right buying the first ticket to the new Paramount
Theatre from Manager Arthur Krolick (right). Pictured at left during a luncheon
it the Rochester club celebrating the theatre opening are, left to right, Michael J.
DeAngelis, architect on the remodeling project; Thomas Woods, public safety comnissioner;
James H. Eshelman, city manager for Paramount, and Edward L. Hyman,
;ice-president of Paramount Theatres. DeAngelis, a Rochester architect, has received
1 commission to remodel a Paramount house in Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA
pilmmen here are watching with great interest
the latest developments in a circulation
fight being waged by Philadelphia's
two largest dailies. Each paper is trying to
outdo the other in providing special features
for the readers, and the latest, pulled by the
Evening Bulletin, is giving a lot of free newspaper
space to the film industry. The Sunday
Bulletin now carries a special column called
"Let's Go to the Movies." an appraisal of
new films by the paper's film critic and coliminist
Laura Lee. She writes what is described
as a "breezy, up-to-the-minute ar-
•^icle on movie malting and film personalities."
These locally written articles are coupled with
She syndicated columns of Hedda Hopper and
I'.ENJAMIN GOLDFINE —
Alden Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—
writes:
"15 years of service by RCA
has insured me of continuous
good sound in my theatre."
To get the benefits of RCA Service
—write: RCA SERVICE COMPANY,
INC., Camden, New Jersey.
Sheilah Graham, and make for almost a
page of film news.
Variety Club is currently playing host to
the Academy of Modern Acting. The academy,
which was burned out by the recent fire at
the Metropolitan Opera House, is directed
by Richard Hernden. who. finding the organization
homeless, appealed to the always
generous Variety Club for relief . . . Pat R.
Notaro, manager of the Bromley Theatre,
will go to Havana in April to take charge
of all the Warner theatres in that city. His
headquarters will be in the exclusive Vedado
neighborhood.
The Lehighton, Pa., school board March 5
ai>proved a 5 per cent amusement tax to
help defray mounting school expenses. The
action was taken to avoid increases in the
regular school taxes ... An 8 per cent amusement
tax was approved in Topton, Pa., in
the Slate belt, near Allentown. This tax is
patterned after the 8 per cent tax in Allentown,
and was passed over the objections of
the town's citizenry and theatremen.
Russell Janney, author of "The Miracle
of the Bells," was due here to help with the
exploitation and to be on hand for the festivities
connected with th" opening of the
film version of "Miracle" the end of this
month . No. 1 film mogul, J.
Arthur Rank, will be in Philadelphia with
Mrs. Rank around April 6.
Local 306 Studying
New Wage Contract
NEW YORK—Members of Local 306, lATSE,
the New York projectionists, are now studying
the terms of a new contract worked out
between union leaders and representatives of
Broadway theatres and affiliated circuits.
The members will have to ratify the agreement
at a general meeting.
Terms were worked out during an aU-nlght
session March 4, 5. The oral agreement
reached by the negotiators headed off a strike
scheduled by projectionists in 120 RKO,
Loew's, Paramount, Warner, and Broadway
theatres for March 7. The booth men had
previously rejected a contract submitted by
management because it failed to include theatres
leased and operated by circuits. They
also found fault with provisions covering
substitutes and vacations.
The new contract provides for a 15 per cent
wage increase retroactive to Sept. 1, 1947.
The old contract expired August 31. The new
pact will run until Aug. 31, 1949.
Operators in neighborhood theatres will
have their hourly base pay increased from
$2.72 to $3.13. Broadway projectionists will
be raised from $4.30 to $4.94 per horn-.
The closed shop wiU continue. The negotiators
agreed that the Taft-Hartly ban against
closed shops does not apply to Local 306
because it is not engaged in interstate com-
New York Local Forming
16mm Operators' Unit
NEW YORK—An effort is bemg made to
unionize 16mm operators for the first time.
It is being done by Local 306. Authority for
he organizing was granted by the lATSE two
years ago.
Both Sides Are Lined Up
For Lewis Bill Hearing
WASHINGTON—TOA's opposition to the
Lewis BiU at March 22 hearings before a
house judiciary subcommittee will be presented
by Ted Gamble, president, and A.
Julian Brylawski, TOA legislative representative.
The bill seeks to require producers
to pay performing rights on Ascap
music.
Abram F. Myers is expected to head a
group of Allied officials in favor of the bill.
'Smugglers' Due at Rialto
NEW YORK—"The Smugglers," J. Ai'thur
Rank production being released by EL, will
open at the Rialto Theatre following the
current run of "Furia." The Technicolor
picture stars Michael Redgrave and Joan
The R. J. Reynolds Co. hit the video screen
Greenwood.
recently with a nightly ten-minute newsreel
show, the film being made by Movietone
News and released in New York. The show
broke simultaneously on WPTZ 'Dawn' Showings March 19
here, and
the NBC outlet in New NEW YORK—Marcel Haliman's production
of "Meet Me at Dawn" will be trade-
York and Schenectady.
Baltimore, Wilmington, Washington,
Boston and Richmond
shown by 20th-Fox in all U.S. branches
are .scheduled to pick
up the show
March 19.
vei-y soon . is airing a
program called Children's Matinee. Running
for an hour and a half, the show features
Hollywood-made films—a cartoon, a serial
|ST CLASS DISTRIBUTION FOE
and a full-length western. Pi'ogram is scheduled
Friday afternoons, from 4 till 5:30 . . .
THE ENTIRE SOUTH - thru
James N. Furness has been named program
producer at 'WFTL-TV, local outlet belonging
to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
ENKINS &BOURGEOIS
ASTOR PICTURES COMPANY
BOXOFFICE
:
13, 1948