Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1962)

jIT5*v scongji sisted of pictures taken of actors, and other well-known persons, many of whom had been at the Odeon Theatres. The highly rated campaign for “Darling Daughter” was reported by Manager Crisp in three parts, the last two of which are described above. This part concerns advertising in the two Southend newspapers, store displays and tieups and street promotion, the latter by two girls (“daughters”) in boater hats and gym suits, etc. Heavy TV Play Is Given 'Devil' Volcano Short The five -minute Columbia featurette of volcano scenes was given hefty television coverage prior to opening and during “The Devil at 4 O’clock” at Loew’s Theatre in Rochester, N.Y. Lester Pollock, longtime manager at Loew’s, arranged a package deal with WHEC-TV by which he received over $1,179 prime telecast time at less than half cost. Eighteen 30-second and seven 10-second spots, plus 25 quickies for the holdover, were purchased on radio. Manager Pollock had a special false front in red highlighted by glitter, special posters, stills and flashing lights. For Main street and shopping centers, he had a walking book ballyhoo. In addition, there were posters one week prior and one week current on 14 Manson New Agency trucks, four downtown music store windows and two sports shop windows. WHEC radio sponsored a contest in which entrants had to list pictures Frank Sinatra has appeared in, for guest tickets. A screening was held for Catholic clergy. It's Arnold Childhouse ’o ? Arnold Childhouse (not Greathouse) is a member of the executive staff of United California Theatres at San Francisco. STRAIGHT FROM THE HEADLINES THE BOOK THAT CAUSED THE CONTROVERSf! "'1984' Itself Protests Firing" i6acV)er '^oredbY &oar( ^”enS Teacher Suspended for ; Using Book ‘1984' teacher Ousted Over “1984” GEORGE ORWELL’S SENSATIONAL NOVEL THAT PROPHESIES THE STATE OF THE WORLD IN YEAR 1984 — A. WORLD IN WHICH INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM IS ABOLISHED, YOUR EVERY THOUGHT TRANSMITTED TO YOU THROUGH MIND MACHINES. EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE WATCHED BY TV rJ-.-J SCREENS; LOVE FORBIDDEN. SEX OUT lUlllUIIU LAWED EVEN IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR '* THIS IS NOT SCIENCE-FIC Controversy over the discharge of a school teacher who defended George Orwell's novel after it had been censored by the school board was a ticketseller for Ed Linder when he played "1984" at the Gopher Theatre in Minneapolis. The controversy occurred at Wrenshall, not far from the Twin Cities. Linder clipped newspaper articles and editorials on the Wrenshall fuss and made up the above ad, (4 cols. 8 inches). This ad (also used on opening day) really sold the picture, Linder reports, and Columbia duplicated it for Minnesota upstate dates. These four girls, left to right, twins Jean and Jeanette Peterson, sister Darlene Peterson and Kitty DeFee, danced the twist all over Jacksonville, Fla., in ballyhooing "Hey, Let's Twist" for the Imperial Theatre's first run. Here they are demonstrating in front of the theatre for downtown crowds. Dance School Teams Go Around Town Doing Twist; They're Hot, So's Hey.' The downtown Imperial in Jacksonville, Fla., which opened in World War I days to become the first unit of the 55-house Florida State Theatres circuit, is still, after nearly half a century, an important member of FST’s top echelon first-run houses. It’s main forte is the presentation of action and exploitation films with a heavy accent of appeal directed toward teenagers and young adults. A fine example of how the Imperial’s management team — Art Castner and assistant Herb Ruffner — use their energy and resourcefulness to capture the imagination of youth groups and, incidentally, lead them to the Imperial boxoffice and concessions stands for landoffice business was indicated by their skillful handling of the first “twist” picture, “Hey, Let’s Twist!,” to play in this area. In the words of Ruffner: “Art and I lined up Buddy Sherwood’s dancing school for some talent to do the twist. Buddy worked up a professional routine calling for four girls and rehearsed the cast thoroughly three weeks before our opening playdate. The girls wore black jeans and sneakers, with two of them wearing peppermint striped satin jackets, and two in peppermint satin blouses. They were paired off in two teams and danced to a recording of ‘The Peppermint Twist.’ “Buddy loaned us his station wagon, which is equipped with a 12-volt sound system, and Art had large, flashy banners made for the sides and rear of the station wagon. Abe Livert, the owner of four record shops, gave us a hundred gift certificates good for $1 on twist records. Stills and one-sheets advertised the tieup in all the Livert stores and on the sidewalk in front of the Imperial. “The four girls proved to be happy and enthusiastic performers and had the showmanship to bring crowds of onlookers wherever they went. And they went everywhere about town for a week — to all suburban shopping centers, to high schools. to the Naval air station, to playgrounds and any place they could spot a crowd of people. By using a station wagon, instead of a flatbed truck, we were able to pull in close to walkways and sidewalks and have the girls go into their twisters right among their audiences. “We jammed the Imperial at a midnight showing of ‘Hey, Let’s Twist! on New Year’s Eve and marched right ahead into some of the hottest business we have had in some time. Art and I are going right along with this twist craze because we have a second twist picture booked in before the end of January.” The Imperial sidewalk and street ballyhoo reached thousands of persons and taught them what the twist is all about. Another good thing about it was its inexpensiveness to the theatre — another good example of how exhibitors can induce patrons to flock to their theatres by dint of nothing more costly than advance planning and the hard work of carrying through on a thousand small details of execution. Aids Scout Project Leo Ricci has lined up Rotary Club sponsorship of four opera films — to be screened one each month during February, March, April and May — at the Capitol in Meriden, Conn. Proceeds will be used for construction of an interfaith chapel at the Deer Lake Boy Scout camp. The films are Madame Butterfly, Tosca, The Marriage of Figaro and Boils Godunov. Spendid ‘Drum Song' Tieup George H. Mackenna of Basil’s Lafayette in Buffalo had a splendid tieup with Decca records and Sattler’s big department store, which brought “Flower Drum Song” a sixcolumn, full-page-deep ad plugging the LP album and the picture. — 15 — BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : Jan. 22, 1962 3