Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Apr-Jun 1930)

46 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD April 5, 1930 ►CAMAfJA. Did you ever think of the meaning that the phrase, “Say it with Flowers, might have in the conduct of your theatre? R. D. Carter, manager of the Fairfax theatre at Kilmarnock, Vu., knows all about it, because he is “ saying ” it, and the box office figures echo with “ nuff sed Fresh Flowers Give Theatre In Small Town a Brighter B. O. The large chain theatre in the hig metropolis doesn’t always have the advantage in exploitation, at least in expense of exploitation. We are indebted to R. D. Carter, manager of the Fairfax theatre of Kilmarnock, Va., for his contribution of this idea for the small town exhibitor: Dress up your theatre with fresh flowers. They needn’t cost you one cent, and you will find patrons telling you that a sight of the flowers alone is worth the price of admission. That last is literally true. It is exactly what has happened at the Fairfax theatre, and Kilmarnock is a town of 500 residents. “Good Films, Good Order, Neat House” R. D. Carter, H. C., (by now you all know that the “H. C.” stands for HOE Club, and its the degree that the Club is going to confer upon its active members) has a pretty good creed for the small exhibitor. He puts it this way : “Show good pictures, maintain the best of order, and always keep the house neat, clean and attractive.” Everyone can do that, but only the enterprising exhibitor will do it. The important thing is that this road to good business is wide open to everyone, big operator or small. Problem of Special Campaigns Of course the village theatre has a greater problem in general in publicizing his program than the larger house. But it can be done. Carter, addressing us as “Dear commander of the HOE Club,” writes. “The problem of a campaign or extra edvertising for a special picture is a very hard one for a country or village theatre. Too few people see a window tieup, and it is out of the question to make up a float to drive over a country of many miles. The town and city theatre can very well do these things to a To The HOE Club Manager, Exhibitors Herald-World, 407 S. Dearborn St., Chicago Please enroll me as a member of The HOE Club, with its slogan. “Dig!” I appreciate the benefits to be made available to me by publication of exploitation ideas of other members and l agree to send in mine. (My Name) (Theatre) ( City) ( State) profit, but we out in the sticks have a much harder problem in the way of advertising. “We believe the best thing for the country theatre is to show good pictures, maintain the best of order, and always keep the house neat, clean and attractive. “Do It With Flowers” “And here is where the little fellow in the country can do for nothing, and little trouble, what the town man may find expensive : that is, have fresh flowers attractively arranged and placed about the lobby. “Often we have had patrons tell us that it is worth the price of admission just to see the flowers. This dressing up the theatre with flowers is a small thing, but we believe it will pay for all the trouble, and then some. Do it with flowers.” Midnight Shows Draw For Small Theatres Too Covington is among the first of the smaller towns in Louisiana to give midnight shows and they have proved so popular at the Majestic theatre that Manager “Sid” Fuhrmann announces he will continue this extra feature indefinitely. Saturday night’s picture, “The Cock-Eyed World,” brought out a packed house. JEROME RIETH, manager of the Apollo theatre at Princeton, III., is all the more solid with the businessmen of his town since he won out in the campaign he inaugurated for the opening of theatres for Sunday shows. He pointed out that local business interests were penalized by the fact that Princeton was the only town of its size in that part of the state that still was under the dominance of archaic blue laws. Calf Contest Wins Girls’ Interest in “ Golden Calf” Film A “calf contest” (no, not the Farm club kind was held by the Indian Theatre at Bedford, Ind., in connection with a department store, to usher in the showing of “The Golden Calf.” Dozens of young women of the city, who supposed they had eligible calves, entered the contest. The store, for the first prize, awarded ten pairs of its best hose. The first prize was given the young woman whose calves came the nearest the measurements prescribed by the artist in the picture, the measurements being taken at the theatre. To all entrants who came close to having the correct measurements, passes were given for the show. Envoy-Exhibitor Is Awarded Birthday Shamrocks and Cakes P. J. Nolan, Ireland’s ambassador to Ottawa, the Canadian capital, was the recipient of many expressions of goodwill on the occasion of his 51st birthday. One of the most welcome gifts consisted of a large bowl of shamrocks, a token of esteem from the women of the choir of St. Matthew’s, a Protestant church. “Paddy” is the president of the Nolan Theatre Enterprises, operating the Avalon, Roxy and Columbia theatres in Ottawa.