PONDERS TAFT-HARTLEY WAL

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Chicago Chapter Ends First
Year
Chicago Seen as Hub
Of Tele-Film Sludios
CHICAGO—There is a strong possibility
that Chicago may become the production
center of films made exclusively for television.
This is the opinion of Ardien Rodner.
president of Television Advertising Productions
Co.. with headquarters here. He
bases this opinion on the fact that Hollywood
still refuses to release its top production
and as yet has made no effort to provide
special film for the new medium. Rodner's
organization is producing low-cost film
for the use of television stations, specializing
in commercials, but later plans to add 15
and 30-minute dramatic shows to its production
schedule.
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Chicago Cinema lodge. B'nai Brlth, celebrated
its first anniversary and climaxed
an eventful year with a membership meeting
and smoker Friday night i20i in the Congress
hotel In Chicago. New officers for
1947-48. who will be installed at the first fall
meeting September 18, are shown here. They
are. left to right, fir.st row: Harris Silverberg,
chaplain: Lou H. Harrison, honorary
president: Sam Levin.sohn, vice-president;
Manny Smerllng. vice-president: Jack Kirsch,
president, and E. L. Goldberg, vice-president:
back row. Lou Abramson. recording secretary;
Al Bartelstelii. warden; Herb Lustig.
assistant chaplain: Lester Simansky. guard
and I. J. Silverman, treasurer.
In its first year the organization reached
a membership of more than 880 and officers
ST. LOUIS
r^\.irviuv M. i'urlcy. secretary-treasurer of
the St. Louis Amusement Co. attended
the 40th annual convention of the National
Ass'n of Building Owners and Managers in
Boston this week. Turley Is past president
of the organization and chairman of the
1948 convention location committee.
Nlchola.s J. Bakewell and Charles Hohman
have finally found a location they can use
for their proposed professional summer theatre.
They have leased a lot in the commercially-zoned
area In Ladue and will open
with "Personal Appearance" July 1. They
will follow this with five other plays, each to
run 12 performances. An audience of 500
will be accommodated on a hill sloping down
to the stage.
Max E. YounKstein, director of advertising,
publicity and exploitation for Eagle-Lion,
has returned to New York City after conferring
with St. Louis circuit operators on
publicity and advertising for "Repeat Performance
Phoebe DavLs who operates tlie World. Is
finally going through with her plans for the
establishment of a floating restaurant, with
floor shows, etc.. to be located on the river
front. Al the St. Louis Shipbuilding & Steel
Co.'s yards, a former dredge boat of the war
department Is being rebuilt, and by early fall
St. Loul.sans may dine on the Mlssl.sslppl
as they enjoy a good meal, refreshments
and a floor show. Phoebe once blocked In
her efforts by failure to .secure a liquor permit,
this time got the permits first and then
arranged to have the "Fort Gage" converted
to her program
expect the roster will reach 1.000 by fall, according
to Levinsohn, chairman of the membership
committee.
A talk by Kirsch was followed by a program
of entertainment featuring Chicago's
finest night club performances, refreshments
and card playing. Gerald Wartell headed
the arrangements committee.
Officers and directors will be installed
September 18. Directors are J. F. Arman.
Ralph Berger. M. M. Blumenstock. H. Busch.
Ben Banowitz. Victor Bernstein. A. Davidson.
J. Fischer. M. Glaser. H. A. Gorney.
M. M. Gottlieb. Charles Gross. N. W. Zinner.
R. Hirsch. Sam Honigberg. Jack Irving. Simon
Lax. Louis Linker. Ben Lourie. J. Rafilsom.
Norman Silverman. A. Simon. George
Topper. Gerald Wartell and Edward Wolk.
and motorbus strike, the management reports.
Miller Hageman, founder of a publicity
agency at 301 Pine St.. died in the City hospital
of heart disease June 28. He was 63.
He handled the publicity for the St. Louis
centennial celebration in 1909 and was one
of the first planners of the famed Municipal
Opera in Forest park.
The Wehrenberg-Kaimann theatres. 23 in
number, have been using this intriguing message
as part of their regular advertising
space in the St. Louis daily newspapers:
"Take a Movie Vacation. A Few Pennies Not
Dollars Is All You Need. Try It. Attend
These Theatres."
The Melvin, operated by Andrew Zotos,
has a neighborhood merchant's gift night
each Monday night. Some of the patrons
.share in the gifts made available by the merchants,
who. of course, get a plug on the
theatre's screen. It hails back to the pioneer
days of the motion picture business but apparently
still works in certain neighborhood
houses, especially when business slumps off.
Maurice Schweltier, resident manager for
Paramount Pictures and his sales staff are
looking forward with eager anticipation to
the Paramount leadership drive which opens
August 31. Schweitzer says. "We are serving
warning on other film centers, the local
Paramount organization Is hotter than the
world champion St. Louis Cardinals, who
are currently burning up the National
league."
M. W. Hughes Installs Anew
ASTORIA. ILL.— New projectors, sound
and screen have been Installed In the Colonial
by M. W. Hughes.
"Mom and l>.»d" Is In Us eighth consecu- With Deanna Durbin
live week at (he World, with business still Dick Hnymes will topllne opposite Deanna
holding up very well despite the streetcar Durbin in Unlversal's "Up In Central Park."
Sex Vies With Trick Horse
As Western Drawing Card {
L-jcn::rd Spinrad in the New York Times
The horse opera Is generally presumed to
be the oldest and least changing category
of film entertainment. Actually, however,
styles in westerns have undergone five distinct
variations and are currently, to the
accompaniment of considerable hoopla, entering
a sixth.
Having discovered that adults as well u
small boys were entranced by the west, tbe
movies finally got around to producing westerns
with sex. The clinch challenged the
trick horse as standard equipment . . . The
cowboys are still galloping but they are taking
time out to act like human beings. And
if you want to know what's happening to f
the nonkissing. all-pure and uncomplicated
hero with a horse twice as smart as he Is—
well, pardner. "he went that-away." f
Great Northern Building
Will Be Sold June 30
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CHICAGO—The Great Northern Bldg..
which houses the Great Northern Theatre
and the Majestic hotel, will be sold in a tax
foreclosure proceeding June 30. The properties,
at 21-29 Quincy St. and 20-28 West
Jackson Blvd.. are owned by Ben and Harr)'
Gold, who have announced their intention
of spending S700.000 in a rehabilitation program.
Tliey have offered a minimum bid of
$122,000 to settle a tax delinquency of $206.-
000 principal and S392.000 of accrued penalties.
The sale was set for June 24. but was
delayed to allow time for legal advertislnp
The theatre has housed legitimate attxactions
for many years and for the last threi
years has been operated by the Shubert organization.
First Runs in Indianapolis
Change Sabbath Openings;.
INDIANAPOLIS Tlio five fust run theatres
here. Loew's. Circle. Indiana. Lyric and
Keith's, have announced a new Sunday opening
time for summer. Doors will be open
at 12:45 p. m. with shows starting at 1 p. ni
The new policy will prevail until after Labor
day. Regular daily opening at 10:34 a. m. will
continue.
Summer midweek matinees are being held
on Monday at the Fountain Square and
Thursdays at the Granada, continuing until
schools reopen. The matinees are continuous
from 1:30 p. m. at both theatres.
Harry Douglass Vacationing
DANA. ILL.—Harry Douglass, owner-operator
of the Dana Theatre, was due back
here from a month's vacation with his wife
and three children in California.
74 BOXOFTICE':: June 28. 194'
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