Cinema: Merely Terrific

It may have been due to the coal and rail strikes. Or it may have been the record amusement-hungry crowds that jammed every race track and ballpark. Whatever the cause, there was a very slight slump at U.S. movie box offices during the month. But no exhibitor was either worried or feeling any pinch. So many people were still standing in line for movie seats that the trade described the slump as merely a drop “from super-sensational to mildly terrific” business.

Variety’s score on the biggest box office draws during May:

1) Kitty (Paramount);

2) The Blue Dahlia (Paramount);

3) The Dark Corner (20th Century-Fox);

4) The Postman Always Rings Twice (MGM) and Gilda (Columbia);

5) Ziegfeld Follies of 1946 (M-G-M).