CINEMA MUSHROOM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 49, 27 February 1937, Page 5 (Supplement)

CINEMA MUSHROOM.

u BANK NIGHT" CRAZE. J AMERICAN THEATRE SCHEME. TWO desvA men grow rich. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SAN IRA NCI SCO, February (5. One of the greatest crazes in the | I nited States of recent years has ! developed in the institution* of "bank I nights in theatres. Huge >uji.s of money are awarded to the lucky holder of a raffle ticket, when the *dra« is ' made on the selected night. In the j event of the holder of the ticket not I being present to receive his prize, the money is usually doubled for the next !

bank night," thereby adding to the excitement when larger crowds pack the theatre. So great has the craze grown that many people cancel engagements in order to attend the picture show on the "bank night. ' Only death would prevent some of these excitable patrons from absenting themselves. As a consequence, the theatrical managers have built up a tremendous following among the credulous public.

In Denver, some obstacle lias been encountered when attorneys for Affiliated Enterprises, Incorporated, which owns the rights to the "bank night" idea which has mushroomed in thousands of theatres, prepared legal appeals against a ruling of the United States Circuit Court that the founders of the plan were not entitled to copyrights. The court, in a far-reacliing opinion that knocked legal props from under "bank night," held the theatrical plan was too closely akin to a lottery. The ruling, it was believed, made it possible for 5000 theatres throughout the country to stop payments for licenses and rentals to Affiliated Enterprises, and might open the way for countless suits to recover moneys already paid to the company. Written by Circuit Judge Robert E. Lewis, of Denver, and concurred in by Circuit Judges George T. McDermott, of Topeka. and Sam G. Bratton, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the opinion confirmed the decision of the L T .S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Court found for the defendant in a suit for infringement of copyright brought by Affiliated Enterprises, Inc.. against the Star Theatre in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.

The "owners" of lmnk night are Charles U. Yeager. who originated the plan in Western Colorado, and Rick Ricketson. l>oth of Denver, founder# and managers of Affiliated Enterprises. Inc. The company obtained copyrights on a written explanation of the pi;'"'. The phenomenal rise of ihe Bank Xiglit Company has lieen a subject of awe in the Denver region, and weekly revenues of the company, owned almost entirely by Messrs. Yeager and Rieketson. has l>een estimated as as 125,000 dollars.