Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

Page 32 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW June 3, 1939 llichard Greene no easy mark for praetieal jokers! Some Memories and An Idea or Two For Those Con templating Programs STR may be celebrating its 6th Anniversary, but it has nothing on the Program Exchange — we're celebrating our 3Sth birthday. Yes, sir, with this issue the Exchange is 35— weeks old. All right, we're not even a year old yet, while the magazine is six; but we'll celebrate our birthday every week until after the first year. In that way, we feel old, even though we're comparatively young. Since this is the Anniversary Issue, we might as well have an anniversary, too. So here we are — 35 Saturdays old. The STR Program Exchange was inaugurated with the Fall Showmanship Number in September, 1938. At that time, the department was a gurgling infant, so to speak, whose birth was inspired by the belief that house programs are one of the most satisfactory forms of theatre advertising. We had received a suggestion from E. E. Bair, manager of the Strand and Valentine Theatres, East Defiance, Ohio, that we devote weekly discussion to the house program. Programs Important Factor Following Bair's suggestion, we contacted several representative exhibitors from all parts of the country, who declared that theatre publications were one of the most important factors in increasing business and promoting goodwill among patrons and merchants. They unanimously approved of the Program Exchange. And so, as we said before, a gurgling infant was born. But, my oh my, how he has grown ! Today, more than a hundred exhibitors from various sections of the United States and Canada, and from across the ocean, are exchanging programs. They've found that a look at the other fellow's program has its benefits, for they can usually her. Incidentally, the Exchange is still in its infancy — still growing. By the time its sixth year rolls around, it will be easier to count those who are not members than those who are. Well, now that we've gone in for birthdays, we'll get down to business. Last week we mentioned the institutional message on the cover of one of the programs issued by Norman T. Prager for the Arcade Theatre, Springfield, 111., and promised we'd reproduce it this week. Always eager to fulfill a promise, we present the message herewith: We suggest that you cut it out and plan to use it in your own house organ or as an ininstitutional ad in the newspaper making only such changes as are necessitated by the name of your theatre and your situation: Prager's Institutional Message "The Arcade — a Friendly' Theatre. No mile-long corridors filled with priceless objets d'art, no cathedral-like auditorium or vaulted lounge where overcome by the vastness of it all you whisper, awestruck. "No staff of over-dressed, overbearing, militarily trained attaches to order you about, or to serve you with condescension. "We cannot boast a mammoth stage or prancing, dancing ladies; not even a large orchestra. "We do boast a little though, for we are very proud of the airy cleanliness of our little theatre. We are happy, too, to have so many friends who patronize the Arcade because of its intimate atmosphere, its comfortable seats, its neighborly friendliness. "It pleases us that our doorman has been born and raised among Springfield people, and knows most of our patrons by name. We're not a little proud that you attend the Arcade because you know that full enjoyment of any picture depends upon the quality of the sound reproduction, and that acoustically as well as from an engineering standpoint, we have perfect sound and the latest and best sound equipment. "We are happy to serve Springfield with the pick of the best pictures released each week in the finest little movie house in town. RICHARD GREENE »h„ i •„ ■own-, h„„ „ <,,h,r, ° S '"•''"""'Mr b"t focWI, n. -To(f;p°'on.,'''"'''' short work of it. ' John For<l baited him on the set of ■■ <;i,h™ . P.,rol ! ■• Th. f.n,ed director tf^;[ ,!tZ ' l n stitches Greene came back in the ar.ot of i <o"8h gangster and Ford, who iikes h"s lltlfe oke. prompti, ga,e him hU approval ' Human interest Angle One zvay to attract attention to a player is to reveal a hiitnan interest story about him. This can be done in your programs. But never have we seen it so uniquely handled as in the reproduction above. A judicious use of ivhite space and a careful selection of type make the piece one that everybody having a copy of the program zvill ivant to read. It's from one of the Gaumont British (London) house organs. A lot of you other members, in fact all of you, could write institutional messages just as effective and compelling as the one written for the Arcade. Little "talks" like this every once in a while inspire a friendlier feeling between the theatre and the customer. You don't always have to have a beautiful illustration on the cover of your program, nor must you always have a portrait of a star or a publicity story on one of the inside pages. Devote the space occasionally to extolling the virtues of your theatre. It will pay you in extra dividends. It Was a Smart Idea incorporate the idea in their own. And, of "Anyone who wants to run a 'Cathedral course, they send out some swell ideas every of the Cinema' can have it. We'll stick to Quite some time ago in discussino the tmie they mail a program to another mem the Arcade, and you . . . our friends." programs of Seth H. Field, who was'then . . at the University Theatre, Cambridge, Mass., we pointed out an interesting feay y _ ^7" A 1 * m * T\ 1 1 ture which we have never seen in a pro — lleVCS lOUV AVVllCCltlOH JjICIHK— gram before or since In listing his attrac r r tions, that IS, the feature, the short sub jects, etc., Seth sometimes wanted to call Cut It Out and Mail Now! attention to a particular subject. Let's say it was the March of Time. Directly under the title, in parentheses was a notation to ^TP P C L page so-and-so." When the reader i I K rrogram exchange, turned to that page, there was a discussion SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, of the March of Time. We rather think it 1501 Broadway, was a smart idea. New York NY your program carries stories aboui ' ■ ■ the attraction, vou, too, can call attention Dear Chick.-l hereby apply for membership in the STR Program Exchange. I understand that entry of my Tecl! v leneatt the'^iiks'' oTif^h^re' vZs no Ser'Xations"''" ' '"^ ^^^^ mteJ^ting to sly about The star or a featured player, you can either put a "see" line below his or her name, or, if that is not practical, you can place an '^^'"^ asterisk after the name and place the "see" line at the bottom of the page. Good illustrations always dress up a proTheatre gram. They don't have to be fancy. From our own experience in studying many, many types of house publications, we've found City State ih^t a simple square (or almost square) halftone is far more attractive than one which is embellished with all sorts of doo