Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1962)

The More Ado the Better at Openings: English Do It With Ribboned Officials The premiere, or first night, is a well-established promotion in English theatres. Mayors, wearing their ribbons and official insignia pendants, and their wives; other city and county officials, civic heads, etc., freely lend the dignity of their positions os premiere guests. Here Manager J. A. Green, manager of the West End Theatre in Birmingham, center, greets the deputy mayor of Birmingham, right, and the mayor of Kidderminster ond their wives, at his premiere of "Exodus." About a dozen mayors from the area ond their wives attended. There was some controversy over “Exodus” in England as reviewers — veterans of the conflict over Palestine, in which Great Britain was caught in the middle, complained about some scenes unflattering to the British soldier, but as J. A. Green, manager of the West End Theatre in Birmingham, reports, the patrons didn’t seem to mind. And the controversy merely served to broaden the promotion. There were long discussions in area publications such as one heal’d, “ ‘Exodus’ — the Story of Isi-ael . . . GHOSTS SHARED THE STALLS WITH ME!” CONTROVERSY OVER ‘EXODUS’ Another such stoi’y was headed, “A Tweak at the International Conscience.” 'This writer admitted “this re-creation of a turbulent piece of recent history stepped on a few of my patriotic corns . . . but my overriding impression is of an honest, objective effort to be fair.” Birmingham is famous for its newspapers: it also has a number of smaller publications, and Green sends tearsheets which shows that he got an impressive volume of “Exodus” copy in a number of them as he put over a masterful campaign. Illustrative of his deft showmanship is an extra he added to his press preview. Besides the newsfolk, he invited 24 persons from the Tudor Home for Aged Jews, as a goodwill gesture to the Jewish community Birmingham. OFFICIAL DIGNITY IMPRESSES If anything, the British showmen make more ado than their U. S. compeers of their film openings, frequently inviting prestige -giving citizens to first-nighter activities. And mayors, councilmen, sheriffs and other officeholders, civic group officials, club heads, etc., are willing for the most part to lend the dignity of thenpositions to the premiere of a new attraction. An interesting bit was added to his “Exodus” premiere invitations by Man ager Green. A page synopsis headed “The Story” was stapled inside an 8y2Xll-mch cardboard “Exodus” folder in color which was sent out to the selected guests. Green’s pressbook indicates an indefatigable effort to make use of every possible avenue of promotion. He contacted the Israel embassy in London, the Israel Navigation Co. the Israel Tourist Office, the El AL Airlines, the Palestine Wine & Trading Co. and came up with a very interesting array of brochures, for the entertainment of lobby lookers . . . maps of Haifa, maps of Israel, booklets on the Galilee country, price lists of Israel wine, tips for tourists, etc. In addition, the Women’s Zionist Ass’n loaned items made in Israel — pottery, leatherwork, brassware, etc. — for lobby display. The Israel embassy loaned 18 large mounted photos of modern Palestine, also stamps. United Artists, the distributors, supplied a large quantity of pamphlets, stills and photos, posters, sheets, etc. Arab students volunteered a demonstration, assuring the manager they would be completely orderly, a photo of which was published in the local papers. Detroit Theatres Push Armed Forces Week A campaign for observance of the Armed Forces Week, May 13-19, by all Detroit area exhibitors was promoted by a committee headed by Fred P. Sweet, managing director of the Telenews Theatre. Sweet pointed out; “The celebration here in Detroit has always been among the best in the nation — and logically so. Long famed as the Arsenal of Democracy, Detroit continues to play a most important role in our nation’s defense picture.” The national flag was displayed prominently at each theatre during the week, as was the special Armed Forces Week poster. Direct Impact Stunts Tops at Resort Airers Pix»motions directly involving patrons — thi"ough gifts, participation stunts or group benefit — ^are tops for any theatre, but Fred Koontz HI, manager of the Waterford (Conn.) Drive-In a stone’s throw from Long Island Sound, declares they are particularly effective in situations such as — his where there is a heavy influx of sum Her mer vacationists. “The idea of community service can’t be overemphasized on the drive-in theatre level,” he said, “particulai’ly in a shoreline town where summer resort and vacation trade brings in the lion’s share of community income.” For “Hey, Let’s Twist!” he offered a twist demonstration by a nearby dance studio at the theatre, plus free twist dance lessons to all comei's. Each patron also received a free piece of peppermint candy. For “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” he promoted from a local jeweler some 500 women’s cigaret holders, which were distributed at the boxoffice. For several years now, the Waterford Drive-In has been pivot of a community effort — a benefit show for the Waterford fire company. For 1962, Koontz booked “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” and “The Mating Game,” and the firemen, vigorous and vital volunteers all, pitched in on a promotional endeavor tlie likes of which would bring credit to any showcase. The firemen provided free rides to patrons’ childi-en on fii’e trucks prior to performance time. “This is a gimmicK,” Koontz said, “relatively new as far as cooperative effoi-ts with volunteer fire companies are concerned, and, by and large, the reaction was very laudatory.” Free fu’e chief hats went to the chil , ?on dr-en. Koontz has lined up dealer-sponsored new oar shows on the theatre grounds. He has found that when a theatre offers its facilities for town events, the response is overwhelmingly favorable. Baseball in 'Terror' Bruno Weingarten, E. M. Loew’s Norwich-New London (Conn.) Drive-In, ran a box in his “Experiment in Terror” advertising, the copy reading: “Baseball Fans! Please Note! The Climactic Scenes of ‘Experiment in Terror’ are filmed against the background of a baseball scene between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Paik, home of the Giants!” Big Radio for 'Lover' The local radio station in Cortland, N. Y., aided tremendously the State Theatre’s showing of “Lover Come Back. The disc jockey played Doris Day’s recordings, and the station used the Rock Hudson and Doris Day interviews. A 40x60 Life magazine display on the picture was an added tiein. The manager is Bob Anthony. Cashier in Chinese Dress Kay Ridell, cashier at the Pitt, de luxe neighborhood theatre in New Orleans, dressed in elegant Chinese kimono and broad-rimmed hat during the run of “Flower Drum Song.” Staffers wore coolie hats and “Drum Song” lapel badges. 2 — 102 — BOXOFFICE Showmandiser :: June 25, 1962