Boxoffice-January.07.1950
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. . James<br />
. . The<br />
ST. LOUIS<br />
Qfficers and directors of the local MPTO<br />
will meet m the Ansell Bros, circuit offices.<br />
Empress Theatre building. Monday<br />
morning (9i ... The Roxy Theatre, Jefferson<br />
City, of the Durwood Theatres circuit,<br />
was reopened on Chi-istmas day. Closed last<br />
summer, Arnold Gould, city manager, said<br />
that it was reopened to provide winter employment<br />
for persons formerly working at<br />
the Skylark Drive-In across the Missouri<br />
river from Jefferson City.<br />
Deluxe<br />
Model<br />
1800<br />
COSTS less^<br />
Tliat's rifjht ! . . . costs less than any<br />
comparable equipment. Bnilt like a<br />
battlesliip. Heavy steel plate base and<br />
welded steel frame gives over 11KI<br />
pounds of rock-ribbed rigidity for perfeet<br />
sujiport to projection etjuipment.<br />
Available for immediate delivery.<br />
St. Louis Theatre<br />
Supply Co.<br />
3310 Olive Street.<br />
St. Louis, Missouri<br />
Complete Theatre Equipment & Supplies<br />
.<br />
The December meeting of the Macoupin<br />
county board of supervisors at Carlinville,<br />
III., voted to accept the petition of Louis<br />
Odorizzi of Staunton, 111., for the vacation<br />
of some lands that he owns so that he can<br />
proceed with the constniction of a drive-in<br />
at the intersection of Route 66 and the White<br />
City road west of Mount Olive. The drivein<br />
will be of 400-car capacity H.<br />
Arthui", secretaary of the St. Louis Amusement<br />
Co., left Jewish hospital after a minor<br />
operation to recuperate at his home.<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kaimann and Mr.<br />
and Mrs. Arthur Kalbfeld have returned to<br />
St. Louis after enjoying vacations in Florida.<br />
Mr. and Mi-s. Tom Bloomer, Belleville,<br />
also are back from a sojourn in Florida . . .<br />
Exhibitors seen along Filmrow: Mr. and Mrs.<br />
William Collins, DeSoto, Mo.; HeiTnan Tanner,<br />
Tanner circuit, Pana, 111.; Joe Goldfarb,<br />
Upper Alton; Gus Boemler, North Alton;<br />
Bill W.lliams, Union, Mo.; Charley Beninati,<br />
Carlyle, 111.; Ben Temborius, Breese, 111.<br />
Tom Rogers, MGM publicity man, was here<br />
with Denise Darcel for personal appearances<br />
to plug the local run of "Battleground" at<br />
Loew's State.<br />
Information from Washington indicates<br />
that the Illinois popcorn crop for 1949 will<br />
be only 30,600,000 pounds of earcorn, less<br />
than half of the 1948 output. The value of<br />
the 1949 crop dropped to $872,000 as against<br />
the $2,439,000 received by the fanners growing<br />
popcorn in 1948. Illinois ranks second<br />
only to Iowa as a popcorn producer.<br />
The St. Louis Star-Times featured a special<br />
article by Spyros P. Skouras, president<br />
of 20th-Fox, in Its issue of December 30,<br />
telling of the progress made by St. Louis<br />
dm-ing the last half a century and giving<br />
predictions for the next 50 years. In general,<br />
Skouras covered much the same ground<br />
as in his talk to a small group of local film<br />
folks at a breakfast at Hotel Jefferson early<br />
in November, warning motion picture exhibitors<br />
not to overlook the possibilities of<br />
television and avoid the mistake of the<br />
vaudeville theatre folk who ignored motion<br />
pictures back in the 1910s and 1920, with<br />
the result that the new industry, motion<br />
pictm-es, was taken over by a new crop of<br />
show people, with the established vaudeville<br />
houses passing out. Likewise, he wrote, many<br />
motion picture exhibitors failed to reai:ze<br />
the possibilities of sound pictures some 20<br />
years ago. "Television and motion pictures, I<br />
think, will grow and develop together," he<br />
stated in the article.<br />
Fourteen members of the famed lOls^<br />
airborne division appeared on the stage at<br />
the Apollo in connection with an invitational<br />
showing of "Battleground." H. Bennin, resident<br />
manager, introduced the soldiers. "Battleground"<br />
had its local premiere at Loew's<br />
State December 31, preceded by a personal<br />
appearance of Denise Darcel, French actress,<br />
Tuesday i27i ... "Guaranteed entertainment<br />
with double-yom--money-back if you honestly<br />
could say you didn't enjoy the program," was<br />
offered by the Ambassador with "Everybody<br />
Does It" and "Miracle on 34th Street." Those<br />
who qualified for the refund would be given<br />
guest tickets to a future show. The plan<br />
attracted much attention from patrons.<br />
Some members of the St. Louis police department<br />
are searching angrily for the person<br />
or persons who broke into the office of<br />
the Regal Theatre. Some of 18 pints of<br />
liquor were taken. The pints were to be<br />
Christmas presents to several beat patrolmen<br />
and other police department members from<br />
George Pliakos, owner of the theatre. The<br />
thief smashed a door glass to get into the<br />
office.<br />
Quincy and Hannibal areas were hardest<br />
hit by the sleet and ice storm which swept<br />
through Missouri. In Quincy. long distance<br />
and local telephone service w'as out and hundreds<br />
of homes were without electricity. A<br />
strike of bus operators added to the inconvenience<br />
and theatres had the legs cut from<br />
beneath business. Twenty-six other communities<br />
also reported disrupted telephone and<br />
electric<br />
facilities.<br />
Exhibitors on Filmrow included Forrest<br />
Pirtle, Jersey ville; Elvin Weicks, Staunton;<br />
Joe Goldfarb, Alton; Gus Boemler, North Alton,<br />
all from Illinois, and Bill Williams,<br />
Union, and Bob Marchbank, Washington,<br />
Mo., district manager for Commonwealth.<br />
Sam Pirtle of Jerseyville, head of the Pirtle<br />
Amusement Co., has recovered from his recent<br />
major operations sufficiently to plan a<br />
trip to old Mexico with his wife. They will<br />
be gone for several weeks . usual holiday<br />
parties were held by local exchanges.<br />
Presents were exchanged through grab bags<br />
or name drawings.<br />
"<br />
U-I will sneak preview "Francis at the St.<br />
Louis Tuesday (10 1 . . . George Ware, 20th-<br />
Fox salesman, flew to Tampa, Fla., where he<br />
was to see the Orange bowl football game<br />
January 1 ... P. J. Lee, Eagle Lion manager,<br />
spent a weekend in Des Moines with his<br />
family.<br />
NO PERFORATIONS: 20% More Light and Better Vision<br />
CYCL9RAMIC<br />
Magic Screen<br />
of the future<br />
. -NOW<br />
.<br />
Custom Screen<br />
'Potent applied for<br />
JOE HORNSTEIN. Inc.<br />
3146 Olive LUcas 2710 St. Louis<br />
The Melody Drive-In on Highway 51 north<br />
of Du Quoin, 111., closed for the winter. It is<br />
owned by Frank Glenn of Tamaroa, 111. It<br />
will reopen April 1 . . . The Ridgway, 111.,<br />
Chamber of Commerce cooperated with Clyde<br />
Miner, manager of the Strand, in putting on<br />
a Christmas party for the kids. Bags of popcorn<br />
were distributed.<br />
Many theatres closed Christmas eve to permit<br />
employes to be with their families. Included<br />
were the Kaimann circuit houses, the<br />
Ashland, Baden, O'Fallon, Pauline, Bridge,<br />
Queens, Plaza, Janet, Lowell and Salisbury,<br />
the Brentwood, the Barracks, the King Bee,<br />
the Kirkwood. Osage and Ozark.<br />
Shelley Winters will return to her home<br />
52 BOXOFFICE January 7, 1950
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