The Exhibitor (Jun-Oct 1939)

Record Details:

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BETTER MANAGEMENT BM-21 Is This YOUR THEATRE? Case No. 6 THE THEATRE: A downtown first run in a large eastern metropolis, playing first runs, one of the key engagements in the country. House gets top scale, also attracts a class patronage. It does some exploitation, concentrates on window displays in class stores, tieups with women’s clubs, letters to schools, contests, etc. It uses no street bally. Because of the nature of its run, it often uses preliminary ballyhoo via the luncheon and cocktail route. THE REPORT: On the night in question, theatre was jammed, with the doorman informing patrons there would be a slight wait for seats. Upon requesting more information, the time when the feature had started became available. Enter¬ ing the house, the lobby was packed five and six deep, with a single usher manning each aisle. Ropes were up, which resulted in a jam as the standees sought to get into that space from which they could get into seats as they became available. This particular observer found himself jammed in a group handled by an usher with more of a flair for m.c.’ing than ushering. As the jam became rather intense, he requested a unanimous stepping back by all concerned to relieve the pressure. To convince those standing that there really were not any seats, he asserted that even he could not find one in which to rest. Spying an empty candy wrapper on the floor, he asked, in mock tones: "Now who dropped that?” By this time, it occurred to someone standing that singles might be available, so the usher was contacted, with the answer: "Why didn’t you ask me before?” Thus, a few people were seated. Mysteriously, during the time this observer was standing, people were brought in from the end of the line by the usher and given seats without having to wait their turn. Finally, after a 40-minute wait and the loss of some coat buttons, this observer was seated, a few rows from back of house, in the middle of the draft and close to the hubbub from those still waiting for seats. The dialogue from the screen made it difficult to hear what the standees were saying. SUMMARY: Inasmuch as it has been rare that standees have appeared in that particular theatre, the shock probably overcame the house staff. Generally this is typical of the circuit’s operation — on the principle of "we seat you where we like — not where you like.” Corrections The Capitol Engineering Company, P. A. Dolan Company, of Boston, and Worthington-Carbondale equipment should have been given credit for the air con¬ ditioning apparatus installed in the TransLux Theatre, Boston, and not the Carrier Corporation as listed in Better Manage¬ ment’s description of that house last month. Philadelphia’s Thalheimer and Weitz, architects, point out that Better Manage¬ ment was in error in stating that the Chelten, Philadelphia, cost, without ground, $1 3 5,000. "The actual cost of the theatre, including heating and air con¬ ditioning was less than $60,000,” the company reports. (Editor’s Note: The figure published was obtained directly from the owner and published with his approval. It might be pointed out here that often owners are prone to boost figures, thus increasing the possibility of an error as happened above.) Television Arrives ( Continued from page 17) Between radio and the screen, the general public has become accustomed to the very acme of perfection in visual and aural entertainment. In television the video portion of the program leaves something to be desired. In the first place, the largest practical television screen (at least, in commercial sets) is approximately 7J4 by 10 inches (about the size of an ordinary "still”). In the case of on-the-spot telecasting, the definition of the image is not too good, although on the inaugural program it took no guessing to tell Grover Whalen from President Roosevelt or Mayor LaGuardia. With motion pictures, the television reception is but slightly less sharp than the originals. With all, however, there is a certain —though not annoying — amount of spherical abberation to the image, caused by the necessari¬ ly curved surface of the kinescope on which the image is formed. What, however, will be the main deterrent the popular acceptance of television will be the cost of the sets, now ranging from $200 to $600 (f.o.b.), plus installing charges. Then, too, there is the cost of renewing the kinescopes when their life expectancy of 1,000 hours has expired, and this means an outlay of from $3 0 to $65 depending on the size of the tube. Cer¬ tainly television is no poor man’s toy! While motion picture producers, distributors, or exhibitors need not worry that television will immediately cause theatres to be depopulated, the industry as a whole has it within its power to make television a powerful ally or, in stultifying itself by inaction, permit the new medium, with its big brother, radio, to assume possible dominence of the entertainment world. a new concepnon "fmoi>an You'll like the new IRWIN No. 127 Chair immensely as soon as you see it. The legless standards are gracefully curved, beautifully paneled and striped, and topped by armrests in natural color. Many of the seat¬ ing installations in both the New York and Golden Gate Fairs are IRWIN chairs. Like an expensive suit of clothes that's tailored to the min¬ ute, but not flashy, it reflects quality in every detail and the excellent good taste of the owner. It's a chair that will go a long way toward providing an air of refined attractiveness to any theatre; and, of course, it provides an abundance of the "neck-to-knee" comfort tor which all IRWIN chairs are famous. See it at the nearest National Theatre Display Room, or write for complete details. May 17, 19)9 N. B.