Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1962)

Bonus Yarn in Wives' 'Night Out' Letters Many letters received in a contest asking women to say why they believed their husbands deserved a “boys’ night out” were so interesting that Manager Nyman Kessler of the DeWitt Theatre in Bayonne, N.J., brought them to the attention of the editor of the Bayonne Times woman’s page, which had sponsored the contest. The result was one of the most interesting developments of Kessler’s promotion for “Boys’ Night Out.” Editor Irene Mazak’s article based on the letters was headed, “Night Out for Boys? Gals Wish They Would.” “Bayonne husbands wow their mates; they are industrious, patient, intelligent, sympathetic, home-loving, considerate, gallant, courageous, kind, gentle, etc., etc. and etc. In fact they just plain won’t leave the house. Not only husbandly, they’re downright uxorious,” wrote Miss Mazak, after explaining about the letter, the film and the contest. “Several women cannily propounded the theory that if the ‘captive’ knows the door is open, he won’t be so apt to wander away. Could it be that om men love the sweet chains that bind them?” This was another paragraph in the story which spread across three top-of-the-page columns. Twenty-five sets of passes were offered as prizes in the letter contest, but Kessler reports his local merchants liked the idea so much that he was able to get 40 additional prizes, in merchandise and certificates, for the winners. “’The picture got plenty of word-ofmouth advertising, especially because of the comedy angles,” Kessler comments, “and it went over great. In this age people like to relax when they can enjoy good laughs such as they got in ‘Boys’ Night Out.’ ” Essay Contest on Mum Potent for 'Miracles' A “Mum” contest for “Pocketful of Miracles,” starting three weeks in advance, was the anchor for a potent promotion in Wimbledon, southwest London, for the showing at the Gaumont 'Theatre. Boys and girls 12 to 15 years old were asked to write essays of not more than 200 words on: Why I love Mum. Why she is the best Mum in the world. What ‘Miracle’ I would like to happen to her. Manager F. C. Murray got Fielden Hughes, schoolmaster of the Queens Road School; John Schooler, reporter of the Daily Mirror, and Kathleen Harrison, actress who often plays the mother role in films, to act as judges. The winner received a “wonderful night out” for his mother, father and himself — a chauffeured car to take them to a steak house for dinner, flowers and chocolates and an evening at the theatre to see “Pocketful of Miracles.” Lolita in Supiermarkets Buster Scott of the 25th Street Theatre in Waco, Tex., had a comely young woman wearing “Lolita” glasses passing out heralds and suckers at supermarkets for “Lolita.” BOXOFFICE Showmondiser ;; Dec. 10, 1962 Band^ Honor Guard at 'War Lover Premiere Forty members of the Forney High School band played out front at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas for patrons at the world premiere of "The War Lover." The festivities featured the appearance of Steve McQueen and Shirley Anne Field, stars of the film. Twenty Air Force men from Southern Methodist University formed an honor guard for the premiere night patrons. Jets in Lobby for 'West Side Story' A half dozen students, plus an ashcan alley decoration, gave plenty of atmosphere in the lobby of Queen's Hall, an Odeon circuit theatre in Newcastle, the famed English city in northern England, for "West Side Story." Con Docherty, the manager, had the students dress in offbeat clothes and designated them the Jets, after one of the street gangs in the musical picture. Here a former lord mayor talks with a couple of "Jet" girls; Docherty is the man in specs, while the other is a local businessman, attending an openingnight reception. Docherty, an accomplished organist, took tapes of "West Side Story" music for use with an advance stage promotion for the film. Wins Distinction Raymond Gibbs won a bit of distinction for the Villa Theatre, which he manages in Rockville, Md., when he was presented a U.S. Air Force Certificate of Appreciation for aid extended to the Air Force recruiting service "in its effort to secure necessary manpower to maintain peace through air power." Here Maj. Irvin Seiko, left, commander of Air Force recruiting in Maryland, the District of Columbia and northern Virginia, presents the certificate to Gibbs. Sgt. Bob Brazel of the Rockville recruiting office also was present at the presentation ceremony, which took place in the Villa Theatre. 200 —