Boxoffice-January.07.1950
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—<br />
—<br />
the sound equally good. Small town situations<br />
need not be afraid of this one. Played<br />
Sun., Mon. Weathex-: Fair.—I. Roche, Vernon<br />
and Veil Theatres, Vernon and Cottondale,<br />
Pla. Small town and rural patronage. • • •<br />
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,<br />
A (Para)—Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Sir<br />
Cedric Hardwicke. This did tremendous business<br />
for us. Rhonda Fleming pictures always<br />
do well here.—R. M. McKuen, Guild Theatre,<br />
*<br />
Oakland, Calif. Teen-age patronage.<br />
El Paso (Para)—John Payne, Gail Russell,<br />
George "Gabby" Hayes. Here is truly (in my<br />
opinion) one of the best western dramas ever<br />
turned out by any company and comment was<br />
very good. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold.<br />
—Lloyd Hutchins, Pangburn Theatre, Pangburn,<br />
Ark. Rural patronage. • • •<br />
Great Gatsby, The (Para) — Alan Ladd,<br />
Betty Field, Macdonald Carey. Walkouts<br />
we counted 11 Friday night and more Saturday.<br />
This picture is, putting it frankly, terrible—and.<br />
the trailer very misleading. We<br />
strongly advise anyone to pass it up. Weather:<br />
Fair and cold.—C. E. McMurchy, Memorial<br />
Hall Theatre, Reston, Man. Rural and<br />
small town patronage.<br />
•<br />
Rope of Sand (Para)—Burt Lancaster, Paul<br />
Henreid, Claude Rains. More sad results from<br />
Paramount. This didn't do half enough to<br />
justify the high top they established on this<br />
generally fine action picture. A good cast,<br />
interesting story and fine direction, but I<br />
could hardly find any persons to sell tickets<br />
to. "Law of the Barbary Coast" (Col) was<br />
on the bottom half and was an excellently<br />
done small flicker. Business was about 75 per<br />
cent of normal. Played Tues., Wed., Thurs.<br />
Weather: Cold and threatening.—Jim Dunbar,<br />
Roxy Theatre, Wichita, Kas. Second and<br />
third downtown run patronage. * *<br />
Sorrowftil Jones (Para)—Bob Hope, Lucille<br />
Ball, Mary Jane Saunders. This is a swell<br />
picture which was enjoyed by everyone. Mary<br />
Jane Saunders certainly took the show away<br />
from Bob Hope—but then he's good, too. I<br />
had an average gross and expected more, since<br />
I haven't had a Hope here for some time.<br />
Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Fair.—Fred G.<br />
Weppler, Colonial Tlieatre, Colfax, 111. Small<br />
towTi and rural patronage. **<br />
Top O' the Morning (Para)—Bing Crosby,<br />
Ann Bl>th, Ban-y Fitzgerald. We don't prefer<br />
the hammer to the horn, but we believe EHHS<br />
should primarily serve as a place where one<br />
exhibitor can warn another which pussy cat<br />
has a stripe down its back. Bing went "bang"<br />
again. The terms allowed Paramount to go<br />
off with the meager take while we increased<br />
the mortgage on the old homestead. This is<br />
a slow-moving piece about a search for the<br />
purloined Blarney Stone (should have been<br />
"baloney") in hard-to-understand Irish<br />
brogue. Arm Blyth did a far better job than<br />
Crosby. It's got a bushy tail, boys! Played<br />
Sun., Mon. Weather: Warm and rainy.— S. W.<br />
Rawson, Best Theatre, Scio, Ohio. Pottery<br />
and rural patronage.<br />
••<br />
RKO RADIO<br />
Coin' to Town (RKO)—Reissue. Lum and<br />
Abner. I ran this midweek to a well pleased<br />
crowd. It did not pack the place but did do<br />
all right. The print and the price were okay.<br />
Can be recommended. Played Wed., Thurs.<br />
Weather: Rain.—Joe and Mildred Faith, Lirm<br />
Theatre, Linn, Mo. Small town and rural<br />
patronage.<br />
•*<br />
Make Mine Laughs (RKO)—Ray Bolger,<br />
Anne Shirley, Dennis Day. This is an uninteresting<br />
hodge podge that gave the kids a restless<br />
hour and caused milling around the lobby<br />
by adults seeking a smoke to kill the time<br />
until the other half came on with "The Big<br />
Steal." This will definitely not stand alone<br />
in any situation and is very poor supporting<br />
fare—made from scraps from the cuttingroom<br />
floor. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Cold<br />
and clear.—S. W. Rawson, Best Theatre, Sclo,<br />
Ohio. Pottery and rural patronage. ••<br />
Mighty Joe Young (RKO)—Terry Moore,<br />
Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong. Here is a<br />
freak picture on the order of "King Kong,"<br />
which really did a nice business for me. It<br />
would please in any small town and do a big<br />
business, particularly with the kids. Don't<br />
pass it up, even if it is weak on star power,<br />
as the novelty will make up for that. Played<br />
Sun., Mon. Weather: Good.—E. M. Freiburger,<br />
Pai-amount Theatre, Dewey, Okla.<br />
Small town patronage.<br />
•••<br />
Mighty Joe Young (RKO) — Terry Moore,<br />
Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong. We spent<br />
several hard-eai-ned dollars pushing this extra<br />
and it didn't do quite enough extra business.<br />
But it is a natural for exploitation, well<br />
done and has some humorous situations. We<br />
paid through the nose for it, of course. It<br />
can be recommended for a good date but in<br />
our case, we're still paying RKO too much for<br />
some pictures that just aren't worth it. Played<br />
Sat. (preview). Sun., Mon. Weather: Good.<br />
—William J. Harris, Crown Tlieatre, Lincoln,<br />
Ark. Rural and small town patronage. ••<br />
Roughshod (RKO)—Robert Sterling, Gloria<br />
Grahame, Claude Jarman jr. To me this was<br />
just so-so. It is nothing big and business was<br />
Patrons Thanked Him<br />
For Playing Picture<br />
OBABE RUTH STORY, THE (Mono)<br />
—WUliam Bendix, Claire Trevor, Charles<br />
Bickford. The name of this picture is in<br />
itself enough to fill your theatre, and this<br />
is in Canada—such is the power of the<br />
name of Babe Ruth. The story was good<br />
and our patrons thanked us for playing it.<br />
Played Wednesday. Weather: Cold and<br />
fair.—C. E. McMurchy, Memorial Hall<br />
Theatre, Reston, Man. Rural and small<br />
town patronage.<br />
•<br />
average. Comment consisted mostly of yawns<br />
as they came out into the lobby. I should<br />
have played it on a Fri., Sat.—my mistake,<br />
not the film company's. Played Sun., Mon.<br />
Weather: Fair.—Lloyd Hutchins, Pangburn<br />
Theatre, Pangburn, Ark. Rural patronage.<br />
Tarzan's Desert Mystery (RKO)—Reissue.<br />
Johnny Weissmuller, Nancy Kelly, Johnny<br />
Sheffield. While a reissue, it is a good one.<br />
We enjoyed a better-than-average business<br />
with it. I think any small town exhibitor can<br />
buy this picture and make money with it.<br />
Johnny Weissmuller is at his best. Played<br />
Wed., Thurs. Weather: Rainy, cold and<br />
nasty.—O. Fomby, Paula Theatre, Homer, la.<br />
Small town patronage.<br />
••*<br />
Tarzan's Magic Fountain (RKO) — Lex<br />
Barker, Brenda Joyce, Albert Dekker. Our<br />
folks must still like Weissmuller for they<br />
stayed away in droves for this. The story wSs<br />
a little better and I thought it okay, but it did<br />
not pay off. The print and price were okay. I<br />
would recommend it, regardless. Played Wed.,<br />
Thurs. Weather: Fair. — Joe and Mildred<br />
Faith, Linn Theatre, Linn, Mo. Small town<br />
•*<br />
and rural patronage.<br />
REPUBLIC<br />
Brimstone (Rep) — Rod Cameron, Adrian<br />
Booth, Walter Brennan. An orchid for Republic<br />
this time. 'Twas a true pleasure to<br />
hear the fine comments this western drew.<br />
This has an ideal cast and Forrest Tucker is<br />
becoming a well followed star. Doubled with<br />
an old East Side Kids comedy, "Clancy Street<br />
Boys" (UFE) to a season surprise of 130 per<br />
cent. Of course the western combination,<br />
with the Bowery Boys, never has failed me<br />
here yet. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Clear<br />
and warm. — Jim Dunbar, Roxy Theatre,<br />
Says Bit of Knowledge<br />
Doesn't Hurt Patrons<br />
SECRET LAND, THE (MOM)—Technicolor<br />
documentary with narrators Robert<br />
Montgomery, Robert Taylor, Van<br />
HefUn. A documentary, yes, but good. We<br />
did not have one complaint and had lots<br />
of praise.<br />
A bit of knowledge doesn't hurt<br />
'em and they know it. We were all at the<br />
South Pole with Byrd. Amazing!—Frank<br />
E. Sabin, Majestic Theatre, Eureka, Mont.<br />
Small town patronage. • • •<br />
Wichita, Kas. Second and third downtown<br />
run patronage. * *<br />
Grand Canyon Trail (Rep)—Roy Rogers,<br />
Andy Devlne, Foy Willing and Riders of the<br />
Purple Sage. This has good color and Roy<br />
Rogers in it. It failed, however, to pull them<br />
in for some reason or other. I just can't figure<br />
it out for the weather was good and we<br />
had some strong, supporting shorts. I have<br />
noticed that — Roy hasn't puUed so well in his<br />
last pictures "Nighttime in Nevada" was an<br />
exception. My lowest Fri., Sat. gross in two<br />
years. Weather: Good.—I. Roche, Vernon<br />
and Veil Theatres, Vernon and Cottondale,<br />
Fla. Small town and rural patronage. • • •<br />
20th CENTURY-FOX<br />
Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend, The<br />
(20th-Fox) — Betty Grable, Cesar Romero,<br />
Rudy Vallee. This is a grand and very clever<br />
comedy that our patrons enjoyed and praised.<br />
Business is down during the pre-Christmas<br />
season so we do not blame the picture for<br />
the low gross. The picture rates preferred<br />
playing time at a reasonable flat rental.<br />
Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Fair.<br />
E. A. London, State Theatre, Olivet, Mich.<br />
Small town, rural and college patronage. • •<br />
Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend, The<br />
(20th-Fox)—Betty Grable, Cesar Romero,<br />
Rudy Vallee. We were a little late on this one<br />
but it did good December business. Several audience<br />
guffaws attest to its humor, but some<br />
situations are almost naughty, especially when<br />
pulled before our Sunday crowd. The color is<br />
good and it should be a profitable venture for<br />
the small to\vn. Played Sat. (preview), Sun.,<br />
Mon. Weather: Rain and cold.—William J.<br />
Harris, Crown Theatre, Lincoln, Ark. Rural<br />
and small town patronage. **<br />
Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend, The<br />
(20th-Fcx)—Betty Grable, Cesar Romero,<br />
Rudy Vallee. This is a corny picture that gave<br />
me my lowest Sun., Mon. gross in 17 weeks. It<br />
would appear that this type of picture would<br />
do big business in a small town, but it failed<br />
for me. Betty Grable is good but miscast In<br />
the pictm'e. It has plenty of laughs and action,<br />
and everyone seemed to enjoy it, especially<br />
with the unanticipated ending. Weather: Rain<br />
and warm.—Fred G. Weppler, Colonial Theatre,<br />
Colfax, 111. Small town and niral patronage.<br />
••<br />
OCome to the Stable (20th-Fox)—Loretta<br />
Young, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe. There<br />
is no doubt that this is a great picture in a<br />
big town where there are lots of Catholics,<br />
but it did a big flop for me. I would say it Is<br />
no good for a small town which wants Roy<br />
Rogers, Gene Autry and Abbott and Costello.<br />
When it comes to nuns in a picture, my customers<br />
don't want "nun." I have asked for<br />
an adjustment In film rental. Played Wed.,<br />
Thurs. Weather: Good. — E. M. Freiburger,<br />
Paramount Theatre, Dewey, Okla. Small town<br />
patronage.<br />
*••<br />
Everybody Does It (20th-Fox)—Paul Douglas,<br />
Linda Darnell, Celeste Holm. This Is a<br />
very good comedy. Business was off 20 per<br />
cent (approximately). I don't know whether<br />
this was due to the bad weather or to the picture.<br />
Paul Douglas really puts on a fine dem-<br />
(Continued on page 4)<br />
BOXOFFICE BooldnGuide : : January 7, 1950