Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

130 Motion Picture News October 4 , 1930 MANAGE!?!' HOUND TABLE CLUB RE-COVERING THE SEATS If the standards and movab'e parts of your theatre's chairs are in good condition, there is no reason why you should consider going to the expense of reseating the house. You can begin to think of that angle when your chairs are uncomfortable, or way out of date. But perhaps the covering of those chairs are "seedy" looking, ripped, or patched until they look like the seat of a tramp's trousers. Then your next thought should be of entirely recovering both the seats and the backs. If you have a real handy man about the theatre, you can secure the material from any number of sources, and at a really reasonable cost, and, taking a small section at a time, recover the entire house. Here is an angle worthy of your most careful consideration. It will improve the appearance of your ho/jse a hundred percent. It will create favorable comment from the patrons, in most cases they will actually believe you have reseated the theatre. And you will have eliminated a condition which, perhaps, makes your theatre look old and worn. Nice looking chairs are considered a part of every good theatre's equipment, if your theatre is lacking in this respect the blame is yours. If you cannot make such a move without proper authorization, you might try taking it up with your division manager and home office maintenance department. You will soon find that they are just as anxious as you that your theatre look right. He was only in the town a day or so when he started to display the showmanship that made the Capitol in Steubenville, Ohio, one of the leading houses in the state. Oh, yes, we're talking about William L. Hendricks, who, as you know, is now located in Parkersburg, W. Va., taking care of the Smoot and the Lincoln theatres. Ambulance Drew Up To Smoot To Bear Away Laughing Man Hendricks' first gag was one with which his fellow members are more than familiar — and one which Howard Waugh, too, has heard of — that of the man who laughed himself sick. This was pulled (in a knockout scale. The arrival of the ambulance was timed to a "T." At the time the show broke, the shriek of the ambulance's siren was heard up main street and a moment later the vehicle stopped in front of the theatre. The attendants ran in with a stretcher and brought out a man who seemed to be having a fit of laughing. On the sheet which was spread over him was imprinted the copy: "He laughed himself sick at (Picture Theatre)." The crowds didn't know what to make of the stunt as they had never seen it before. And. believe it or not, but the newspaper actually ran a story on it, which leads us to believe that Hendricks must be making contacts mighty fast. With this live-wire showman operating in Parkersburg, the town is certainly in for a treat, and we can make the statement with conviction because Hendricks tells us that he wants Howard Waugh to know that our pages are going to sizzle with accounts of his work. In the interests of Howard, since we happen to know he is very busy right now, we'll have to reply that it is going to take some corking showmanship to keep the Meridan Sage from forging to the front. Keep your weather eye glued on the Club pages and see what Hendricks and Waugh are doing to sell their shows. All set, Howard! If there's one thing that E. P. Fields, manager of the Capitol Theatre in Moose Jaw excels in, it is the use of novel displays and street ballyhoos. No matter what picture Fields plays, he is certain to add a number of novel touches to his selling of it. Just a short time ago we showed you a couple of corking fronts he built for the Moose Jaw Rodeo. Now here's some he used for "Journey's End." Fields Featured A Home-Made Tank For "Journey's End" <*& 1*(„ ■E£^2^~2£^ ^^T Ilk -*» _r In the photos we are showing you can see the "tank" he constructed as a street ballyhoo. The "tank" was made of beaverboard, mounted on a truck chassis. Regular camouflage color schemes lent a very effective tone, and the use of the catchlines used during war times also pepped it up. The truck, manned by two soldiers, cruised about the town and the outlying vicinities, attracting plenty of attention. This proved to he a great medium for business boosting. Fields' front, as you may note, was also a whiz. Sandbags, machine guns, German trophies, soldiers, shrapnel bombs, flares, everything that could be promoted, was pressed into service. All of the local war vets were present on the opening night, and similar other angles were utilized. Look the pictures over closely and you'll be able to pick out some angles that will prove to be of value to you. And you can use them whenever you get an opportunity. As Fields is well known around his section for the work of this sort that he turns out, we will have some more to pass along in the near future. Keep it up, "E. P., and let's hear about you creating some new records. JULES S. WOLFE Says: 7 am following your section in the MOTION PICTURE NEWS quite diligently and receive therefrom many constructive ideas." Manager, Christie Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.