Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

Ocloba 21, 1939 S li O W M E N ' S T R A D E REVIEW Page 7 FOR BETTER SHOW SELLING Showmanalyses Have Appeared In STR on Following Pictures ]!abes In Arms Oct. 14 Beau Geste Sept. lb Bndal Suite June 3 Coast Guard Aug. 5 Each Dawn I Die Aug. 19 Elsa Maxwell's Hotel For Women Aug. 5 Eternally Vour.s Oct. 14 Flying Deuces This Issue Four Feathers Aug. 5 Golden Boy Sept. 2 Goodbye Mr. Chips -July 29 Honeymoon In ISali Sept. 30 In Name Only Aug. 19 Intermezzo, A Love Story Sept. 23 1 Stole a Million July 29 Juarez June 10 Lady of the Tropics Aug. 12 Man About Town July 1 Man in the Iron Mask July 15 Mr. Smith Goes To Washington ....This Issue Mutiny in the Uig House Sept. 30 Nurse Edith Cavell bept. 30 Old Maid Sept. 2 On Borrowed Time July 15 Our Leading Citizen Aug. 12 Gains Came Sept. 16 Stanley and Livingstone Aug. 12 Star Maker Aug. 29 Tarzan Finds A Son June 24 They Shall Have Music Aug. 29 Three Sons ^ Oct. 7 Thunder Afloat Sept. 23 U-Hoat 29 Oct. 7 Under-Pup Sept. 9 When Tomorrow Comes Aug. 12 Winter Carnival July 29 Wizard of Oz Aug. 29 Women, The Sept. 9 Young Mr. Lincoln June 10 Pay Tribute To Memory of Col. Butterfield in Lansing As a tribute to the memory of the late Col. Walter S. Butterfield, dedication of the beautiful Butterfield memorial room took place last week in Lansing, Mich., with a dinner at the Lansing Press Club attended by executives of Butterfield Theatres, Inc., and managers of Butterfield Theatres in the Lansing area. The dedication was held in connection with the opening of the new Gladmer Theatre. The famed showman was eulogized in brief remarks by Paul A. Martin, publisher of The State Journal and vice-president of the press club; E. C. Beatty, Detroit, president of Butterfield Theatres, Inc., and Edmund C. Shields, vice-president of Butterfield Theatres, Inc. Telegrams were received by Mr. Beatty during the dinner. "To us who knew him," wired F. J. Downey, Detroit manager of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, "he will always remain in our hearts as a pioneer, a humanitarian and a grand old man of the motion picture industry. May the Colonel and his adventurous spirit be enshrined in this memorial." In another wire. Warren A. Slee, Detroit, MOM publicity director, felt it his loss "not to have ever had the privilege of meeting Colonel Butterfield and hope you will permit me the privilege of revering his memory." J. E. Flynn, Chicago, mid-west division manager of MOM, expressed his confidence that "the spirit of Col. Butterfield's good fellowship will permeate the atmosphere attending this occasion." Plaza Theatre Gets "Break" The Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Canada, was broken into last week, according to Manager Harland Rankin. Whether the intruders got anything was not revealed by Rankin. Tompkins Crabs Seven Pages of Tieups In Local Contest on ''Our Leading Citizen TT HAPPENED last August. Up to this i time it was a secret. But now the story is out, and it's the story of one of the biggest three-way tieups (merchant, theatre and newspaper) that ever came out of Reno, Nevada, or any other city for that matter. Luckl}"^ enough, a film salesman learned all about the tieup or we might not have had details of it at all. Since he was a friend of Al Tompkins, manager of the Majestic Theatre, Reno, it is only natural that he should be in a position to get a first-hand knowledge of what was going on. And since Al is apparentl}' modest, his friend took it upon himself to make the report. Selected Reno's Leading Citizen In conjunction with the showing of "Our Leading Citizen" at the Majestic, Manager Tompkins staged a contest to select Reno's leading citizen. Coupons were published in the Reno Evening Gazette, and were also available at the theatre. The public used them in voting for their favorite. The person honored as Reno's leading citizen received a beautiful bronze plaque direct from Bob Burns at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood. But now we come to the big story. By tieing up with merchants, Tompkins received seven full pages of cooperative ads and publicity. Think of it — not just two or three — but seven. The announcement of the contest, together with a reproduction of a letter received from the Governor in which he endorsed the film, and a telegram from Paramount in San Francisco, were the highlights of the first page. The rest of the pages were filled completely SNAPPY STUNT ON GINGER Sparkling with "ginger," here's one of the "snappiest" stunts we've heard about in a long time. For the engagement of "Fifth Avenue Girl" at the State Theatre, Springfield, Ohio, Manager Oliver S. Niklas devised a giveaway which consisted of a ginger-snap enclosed in a cellophane packet. Copy on the card enclosed with the cookie, and easily seen through the cellophane, read: "if you think this ginger is snappy, wait till you see Ginger Rogers in 'Fifth Avenue Girl'." These were the first pass-outs, it was declared, that were not cast aside after the first glance. with cooperative ads. In all, there were approximately 42 ads of all shapes and sizes. Six of these were incorporated in a page layout (see cut). With such a scoop as this to his credit. Manager Tompkins has something of which to be proud. And we hope that in the future he will let the rest of us in on some of the wonderful exploitation tieups he is making. Victrola Cards Plug Songs In the automatic victrolas popular in taverns and restaurants. Manager Richard Barry of the Capitol Theatre, Chicago, placed 11x14 cards bearing this copy: "If you enjoy hearing these songs (titles of outstanding songs in the picture) we want to remind you that Bing Crosby sings them all in his latest hit picture, 'The Star Maker' now playing at the Capitol." Jusf Two of the Pages — There Were Seven in All ! When Manager Al Tompkins, of the Majestic Theatre, Reno, Nevada, sets out to make tie-ups, he doesn't limit himself. For instance, in conjunction with Paramount' s "Our Leading Citizen," he didn't stop until he had gotten seven pages full. On the left is the opening page, while in the page on the right, several merchants were combined in one attention-getting layout. Tompkins may not be Reno's leading citizen, but we vote him Reno's leading showman, and Reno can't divorce us from that designation.