Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-05

OF the year" requires a report on
book. why shouldn't drama get
Show business. even if you
don't give a rap, is lovely.
1t may not last - look what
happened to last summers crab
grass-but 1857 starts off as a
sumner. Box Office wealth is not
Immediately deep enough to
roll in but very little wealth has
been since the Internal Revenue
Bureau got on its trail some
years ago. Nevertheless, frowns
have disappeared and there is
jauntiness in the steps OF
Showmen.
How come? Well, we'll tell
you how come.
You take the Palace and Capt.
tol theaters. Their pictures,
"Teahouse of The August Noon
and "AnaStasia," respectively.
have just done an unheard of
thing. Both did better second
week business than in their
opening Stanzas.
This sent Loew's accountancy
bloodhounds scurrying through
the books to see if this had ever
happened before. 1t hadn't.
1t is not to be explained, in
case you want to jump to that
conclusion. by the fact that both
are big pictures and last week
happened to be Christmas week.
IL has been Christmas week be-
fore. year after year, and second
week business even on super
attractions has never behaved
like this.
You want to know something
else? Popular pictures help one
another instead of the reverse.
Using the Palace and Capitol as
yardstickS gosh. what analysts
those drama department people
are), it has been found that they
have their best weeks when both
have popular films.
Business was terrific a word
you'll never find in Hadleyl last
February when the two houses
were playing "Carousel" and
I'll Cry Tomorrow"
Ii was terrific again later
when the combination was
alexander the Great" and The
Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. !"
y
JINGLE JANGLE: ThoS e
words may not mean much but
they are as close to the sound
of clinking money as one can
come on a typewriter.
Which brings this analysis,
obliquely, TO The Friendly Per-
suasion. Now. here is a movie
which has made nearly every
critics l0-best list. including
all three of the local reviewers
From the beginning. it had
everything to recommend it. eX-
cept one. This one was its title
which many regard as the year 5
hardest to sell.
When it opened at the Ontario
eight weeks ago. the smart
management had a notion that
it would make all honors lists.
Come what may, the theater was
determined to hold it until the
l0-bests were chosen, confident
that this would result in a solid
business at year end and in
January This is precisely what
did happen. At the end Of its
second month, The Friendly
Persuasion" is doing flrst-week
business at the boXotice.
ANALYSIS CONTIN UED:
Cinerama's eyes are popping.
Pockets too.
This new one, Seven Won
ders of the World" is the third
OF the huge production 1t again
Is a travelogue. about the wisdom
of which some critics ventured to
express a doubt. This is why they
are critics instead of rich bust
ness men as their mothers per-
hsps hoped they would be
Here is the Cinerara story, in
figures, comparative first week
figures:
This Is Cinerama," S25 900,
"Cinerama Holiday" $4,000.
"Seven Wonders of the
World s35.800.
STILL ANYALYZING: Hang
on. There's not much farther to
go.
Motion Picture Herald, which
could not be more timely with it.
has just come through with 2
list of the years that's 1856, of
course top 81 pictures at the
boXoffice.
OF this group, only two re-
ceived entirely negative notices
and two others semi-negative
ones from the majority Of East
ern critics. What does this
mean? That critical and public
reaction to pictures is getting
steadily closer
\
OTHER THINGS: A display of
repertory acting rare in New
York, London. or anywhere else
is planned for Broadway next
week. In five nights. start
ing on Monday, the Old Vic
company will do four plays,
Richard II" Macbeth" "Ro-
meo and Juliet and "Troilus
and CreSSida " The San1e