PONDERS TAFT-HARTLEY WAL

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30-year-old
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'Duel
Sets Record
ror Single Week
MINNEAPOLIS— "Duel ill the Sun" has
Iv on the distinction of grossing the largest
It )tal of any one picture here in a single
(v.eek. It was helped to the honor by being
ll'layed in two downtown houses, the Century
Irnd Lyric, simultaneously, the first time any
[fjreen attraction ever has played more than
line key house at the same time. Another
I help was its increased admission scale—90
lents for matinees. $1.25 for nights and 50
[tents for children. Tlie reduced teen-age
[udmissions do not apply for this picture.
At the eleventh hour the Minnesota Amuse-
[iiient Co. decided on a SI. 25 top instead of the
[$1.50 originally planned. The rea.son. it was
Irxplained. is that $1.25 is the top in nearly
lull other cities.
Advertisements said the picture is not rec-
Icmmended for children but at the same time
[listed the children's price.
In all of the numerous day and date open-
Pings in the territory, the picture has been
doing record-breaking business, according to
I
Charles Wiener. SRO representative.
I
Ralph Maw, Son Hailed
For Saving Trio in Lake
MINNEAPOLIS—Ralph Maw. MGM dismanager,
and liis 14-year old son Richard
landed on the newspapers' front pages
had their pictures published, too, after
jthey rescued three persons from drowning in
Lake of the Isles near their home here.
They were on the shore near their outboard
I'
I'
boat when they sighted the
trio thrashing about in the water alongside
overturned canoe. In their boat Maw
and his son reached the two men and woman
in jig time.
Richard dived into the water to hold up a
student nurse until his father
could grab her by the hair and pull
her into the boat. They also succeeded in
getting the two men into the boat.
Arch Hosier, Tony Matricci
Buy Cine Theatre Supply
ST. LOUIS—The Cine Theatre Supply Co.
^
liere operated up to this time by the motion
I
picture theatre equipment section of the
Radio Corp. of America, was recently sold
'
TO a corporation formed by Arch Hosier and
r Tony Matricci. Both have had a long asso-
• elation with theatre equipment business in
j' St. Louis. Hosier was formerly field engi-
!| neer with Western Electric and Altec Service
Corp. Matricci is the owner of the Uptown
in St. Louis.
Art Pugh's Theatre Burns
In Columbus, Kas., Fire
COLUMBUS. KAS.—In a $100,000 fire early
Monday morning the State Theatre here
burned to the ground. The fire, beginning
.1 little after 1:00 a. m., destroyed three two-
.'-tory buildings and the theatre, owned by
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|< .\. W. Pugh. Also destroyed were a restaurant,
four apartments and offices of three
business firms.
Leave PRC-Eagle-Lion
MINNEAPOLIS — Conrad Kriedberg and
.Ice Behan, PRC-Eagle-Lion salesman and
booker, respectively, have resigned. No
, 'uccessor to Kriedberg has been named yet.
l^ut Harold Rosenberg and Roy Cohen,
Tainee bookers, are handling Behan's former
duties.
f^^^ff^ Central Lashes Out
At 'Super-Top
PREFERS DIGNITY—Thomas Boyle
of the Capitol Theatre in Clinton, Iowa,
deplores the indecorous manners and attire
of the modern theatregoer. "In the
good old days," says Boyle, "going to the
theatre was a ceremiany. Women came
in their best finery and men with top
hats and tails. What a contrast today.
The theatre is not respected, with men
coming in shirt sleeves and sport clothes
and women in slacks. If I had my way
I wouldn't admit a woman in slacks."
Prices
MINNEAPOLIS—North Central Allied has
trained its guns on what it calls the "supertop"
basis being used by distributors. In effect,
NCA calls this device as vicious as percentage
which they are demanding on a flat
using it in preference to percentage in order
to get larger returns from the exhibitors.
The attack was made in a bulletin issued
by North Central. The bulletin brands the
"super-top" basis (from one-and-a-quarter
to one-and-a-half higher than the regular
top bracket) "a trick."
"Distributors are using this trick increasingly,
in lieu of percentage, becau.se they read
the sign of the times (decreasing grosses i and
know they will never get the returns on percentage
which they are demanding on a flat
rental basis." the bulletin declares.
"A very few pictures are rolling . big
money. These, however, are .sold on such
terms that, regardless of the business they
do, the exhibitors make little or no money
and, in fact, are worse off in that they establish
higher flat rentals for the large volume
of mediocre pictures.
"Of course, flat rental of pictures, rather
than terms of 40 and 50 per cent, is the only
salvation of the exhibitor. But extreme care
must be taken lest flat rental prices go sky
high and the exhibitor's last state becomes
worse than his former."
More cautious buying is urged by the bulletin
because of an alleged boxoffice drop
which, it says, "is a clear and definite warning
to any exhibitor capable of reading the
signs of the times."
610-Seater Opened in Wamego, Kas.;
Cost A. E. Garansson $100,000
WAMEGO. KAS.—The Garansson Theatre,
a 610-seat, $100,000 showcase, opened
here Tuesday (24i. A. E. Garansson is owner
and operator. The opening ceremonies
were attended by many important figures
in the industry from Topeka and Kansas City
and many fellow showmen in the surrounding
territory. Albert Beard, Kansas secretary
of labor, was here as the personal representative
of Gov. Frank Carlson who, at
the last moment, was unable to come.
Seating is all on one floor. The auditorium
color scheme is cream and white, with
maroon striping and trimming. The seats
are in apple green with cushions of a darker
shade. The curtain is maroon velvet and
the screen curtain in gold cloth.
The lobby contains a candy bar and a popcorn
concession and is done in cream and
maroon. The ladies' room, just oft the foyer,
is done in the same color .scheme and contains
a large mirror with indirect lighting, a
couch in dark red leather, two easy chairs
and stainless steel smoking equipment.
The manager's office and projection booth
are reached by a stairway at the back of the
foyer. The office faces the screen and a
large window of plat€ glass that can be slid
open gives full view of the screen and the
auditorium.
The building is of matched stone, concrete,
concrete blocks and brick construction. It
is as fireproof as modern construction can
make it. All floors are concrete and the
projection booth is all concrete. All wiring
is in conduit and controlled from panels.
One novel fire protection feature is an
asbestos inlaid screen.
Two more units of the $100,000 structure
will be completed in the near future, according
to Arthur E. Garansson. They will house
a snack bar and three offices to the east and
a supermarket and a parking lot for 30 cars
on the west. The structure will also house
three apartments above the theatre and snack
bar. Construction on the Garansson enterprise
was begun a year ago last March. Garansson
had much of his material on hand
prior t. that date. Floyd Wolfenbarger,
Manhattan, Kas., was the architect.
Equipment in the Garansson includes
Brenkert projectors, RCA sound heads and
an RCA Snowhite screen. Seats were purchased
from Mis.souri Theatre Supply Co. and
the drapes and curtains, costing more than
$1,500, from Great Western. The air conditioning
is by U. S. Engineering. A Star
popcorn machine is in the lobby. The theatre
is also equipped with a p.a. system.
Garansson's staff consists of Guy Mccormick,
house manager: Sylvester Blakeley.
projectionist, Mary Lou Lamkin, secretarycashier,
and Mrs. Guy McCormick, confection
and popcorn bar. In addition there are
three usherettes.
The house is showing daily, with matinees
on Saturday. This is Garansson's first experience
in exhibition.
lOXOFFICE ;: June 28, 1947 MW 77