Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

Store Holds '8 VI' Sale With Passes to Film Citations for August-September 1963 Virginia Howell, manager of Lovett’s Western (W . Va.) Drive-In. Cited for her tasteful selling of “Walk on the Wild Side,” which produced substantial extra revenue at a late Saturday night showing. • Al Marsden, manager of the Centre Theatre, Corpus Christie, Tex. His Elvis Presley photos — old phonograph records lobby stunt executed by local radio station helped put over “It Happened at the World’s Fair” in a big way. • Odis R. Owens, manager of the Keith Theatre, Cincinnati. Outstanding radio-TV promotion for “Bye Bye Birdie,” in which all eight of city’s stations participated, including a deejay broadcast from the Keith lobby from noon to 4 on opening day. This was followed by performances of local amateur combos until 8 p.m. • Tal Richardson, owner of Tals Midland Theatre, Coffeyville, Kas. Lobby displays in behalf of “Days of Wine and Roses” featuring pictures (of himself with star Jack Lemmon) and other material he obtained at the Show-A-Rama VI convention in Kansas City. • Allen Johnson, owner, Eastown in Grand Rapids, Mich. Fullfledged campaign for the start of his MGM Musicals series, in which his Miss MGM Musicals obtained wide publicity by posing with Mayor Stan Davis high in a hydraulic lift bucket. John W. Creamer, manager. Federal Theatre, Denver, Colo. Extra revenue effort. A featurette he viewed aboard ship on a Pacific cruise, “A Great Ship,” was lined up for a special promotion. John Meehan, assistant manager at the Imperial Theatre, Jacksonville, Fla. His imaginatively planned and executed campaign for “Flipper” gave his theatre its best attendance in two years. • Leon Rountree, owner of the Holly Theatre, Holly Springs, Miss. Striking theatre front constructed with bamboo screens for “Tarzan’s Three Challenges.” • Oscar Brotman, theatre owner, Chicago. Courageous promotion for “Flipper” at his downtown Loop Theatre. Obtained a live dolphin (at great expense) from Florida for large tank on sidewalk in front of theatre. Paid off not only at the Loop, but residual interest benefitted subsequent runs. • Walter W. Bell, owner of theatres in Dewey and Chetopa, Okla. Cited for success at his new Capri in Dewey. Ivan Ackery, manager of the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, B.C. Put on biggest radio campaign “in many moons” for “Summer Holiday” and collected excellent dividends at his boxoffice. 'Hill Mob' Rebooked After Big Gold Robbery An alert promotion for “ 8V2 ” at the Hellman Theatre, Albany, N.Y. tied the Italian picture into a Friday-Saturday sale of the same name at the MaXam Discount City in suburban Colonie. A seven-column newspaper ad proclaimed: “Don’t Miss It! Big ‘8V2’ SALE.” To the left, at the top, was a box capped “MaXam ‘8V2’ Sale Being Held in Conjunction With the Movie ‘8V2’ at the Hellman Theatre.” A strip read: “Now Showing ‘8V2.’ Joseph E. Levine Presents Federico Fellini’s,” etc., with a head cut of Fellini, at the right. Underneath was the message: “FREE PASSES. One of each sale item will be marked with a special code entitling purchaser of that particular item to a FREE PASS to the picture ‘8V2’ at HELLMAN Theatre.” Dave Weinstein directs Heilman promotion. 'Hud' Author at Preview Which Radio Sponsors A “Hud” screening in the Parkway Theatre at Fort Worth, Tex., sponsored by radio station KXOL, was attended by Larry McMurtry, the young university professor of Austin who wrote the book on which the film was based. KXOL guests, invited businessmen, waitresses, barbers, salesgirls, cab drivers, bellhops, beauty operators filled the house, made available by Interstate Theatres. The screening was arranged two weeks in advance by Dick Empey and Bob Lynch of the Hollywood, a Trans-Texas operation. McMurtry was interviewed on the stage before and after the showing. Afterward he was a guest at dinner at the Farmer’s Daughter restaurant with selected newspaper folk. The radio buildup, the screening wordof-mouth and the resulting generous newspaper coverage went a long way in publicizing the Hollywood showing. In addition, a screening was held a week prior for students of high school papers. Letters of invitation were followed up by personal phone calls. Sneaks were held on a Friday and Saturday before opening. Empey reports these attracted full houses, indicating the film already was becoming known by the public as a result of word-of-mouth. Jack Gordon of the Fort Worth Press had a full page on “Hud,” and this was blown up for a 40x60 board. 'Thrill' — Miami Trip Paper Gets Big Play in Stores “The Thrill of It All” and Universal’s trip to Miami contest received extensive advertising via shadowboxes and window cards in Sattler’s downtown Buffalo department store, and via 60 window cards and three-sheets in the Thruway Shopping Center. The film opened at the Granada, Schine de luxe suburban theatre in north Buffalo. Joe Garvey, manager, had the fashion trailer on WGR-TV, arranged WEBR radio and WGR-TV contests, had the open-end interview on radio and planted a crossword puzzle contest in Catholic weekly and a pictorial layout in the roto section of the Sunday Courier-Express. When E. D. Harris, promotion-publicity director for Herbert Rosener Theatres in southern California, and Sydney Lyndon, general manager, read in the newspapers that $580,000 had been stolen in London holdup that recalls “Lavender Hill Mob,” a film that has been making the rounds in Britain and America, they agreed it would be worth while to book a return of the film, although it played around Los Angeles many times. Enough time was allowed to tip off the columnists and get some material in the newspapers. The front proclaimed the London gold robbery. People stopped, noted the copy and got a kick out of it, realizing that it was impossible to get out a documentary on the crime so quickly. Ad copy emphasized that the gold bullion stolen in the London holdup recalls the “Lavender Hill Mob” . . . “Did the bandits get their ideas from this classic gangster movie?” Profit in Religious Film The Ritz in Albany, N.Y., attracted a profitable three-day business with a booking of “The Life of Saint Maria Goretti” and a color short on the Vatican. Manager Joseph Stowell and distributor John Harm worked with the Catholic chancellery in a parochial schools promotion. BOXOFFICE Showmandiser :: Oct. 14, 1963 — 163 — 3