Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

• ADLINES & EXPLOITIPS • ALPHABETICAL INDEX • EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY • FEATURE RELEASE CHART • FEATURE REVIEW OIGEST • SHORTS RELEASE CHART • SHORT SUBJECT REVIEWS • REVIEWS OF FEATURES • SHOWMANDISING IDEAS THE GUIDE TO BETTER BOOKING AND B U S I N E S S B U I L D I N G Nv A Dream Stunt Comes to Life Coon in Tree and Eager Hound on Truck, Plus Sound Effects, Make Town Howl! There must be quite a bit of the coon dog man in J. P. Harrison, one of Interstate Theatres’ bright showmen who manages the Campus Theatre at Denton, Tex. Recently he finally got a picture that gave him an excuse to put on an exploitation that which he says he had been waiting to execute for a good many years! The film Harrison had been waiting for was “Savage Sam,” and his dream stunt fitted this one perfectly. As illustrated in the photo herewith, the stunt brings a bit of the wooded hills right to the front of the theatre — a treed coon very much alive with a mighty eager hound rarin’ to get at him. This wildlife drama was enacted on a large flat bed truck, equipped with proper sound effects and signs and parked in front of the Campus on opening day. Played continuously through loudspeakers mounted on top of the truck cab was a 45 -minute specially recorded tape blaring forth announcements on the film between blasts of a cowhorn, such as used by coon hunters to call their dogs from the chase. Harrison got a champion coon hound caller to do the recording. Following blasts from the cowhorn, announcements would follow, such as, “We’re tooting the horn for Walt Disney’s ‘SAVAGE SAM,’ etc.” This kept on continuously through the day and evening. “If you have not heard the shriek of a cowhorn, you won’t appreciate how this sound carries,” Harrison comments. “It is much like a siren and carries for blocks.” To add a little more atmosphere to the float, a fireplug, used inside the lobby in an advance display, was mounted on the truck bed. Banners on the truck read: “You Too Will Howl With Glee When You See Walt Disney’s ‘SAVAGE SAM’ . . . Campus Now Showing.” “To really appreciate all this,” Harrison relates, “you really have to see how vicious these dogs bark and howl and plunge. At night we had three hound dogs plunging and howling at the coon. Spotlights from above lighted up the scene. If I ever pulled a stunt which made people laugh, this one did. “I’ve always felt that when you can sell people through a laugh, they are doubly sold.” Harrison reported the stunt was not expensive. ( For the information of people who aren’t coon hunters, the object primarily is to tree the coon, one of the smartest of animals, not kill him. Sometimes the coon seems to enjoy trying to outwit the hounds.) 'That Kind of Girl' Copy Stresses Personal Pitch “High school age and over SHOULD SEE IT . . . Children under high school age not admitted.” This notice headed a two-column ad on “That Kind of Girl” at five drive-ins in New Orleans. Other ad copy, also two columns wide: “IF you have never read a movie ad, please read this one ! If you don’t you may well miss the opportunity of seeing a most unusual motion picture . . . THAT KIND OF GIRL . . . Produced unpretentiously, it was unheralded until it was pointed to as worthy of Academy award notice ... It was made in a city not unlike ours and with a cast of dedicated players who poured their hearts into the filming of this warm and moving story . . . We would be surely remiss if we did not urge everyone to see this picture. It offers a rewarding entertainment experience beyond anything you have ever enjoyed befoi’e.” Nuttycorn Adds to Sales Lew Bray jr. is tilting concession sales a bit at the Texas Theatre in Pharr, Tex., with Nuttycorn! He puts a nickel bag of peanuts in a dime bag of popcorn and sells the two for 15 cents. Occasionally he “seasons” the Nuttycorn with a pass. Interview for 'Lawrence' The Evening Times-Globe, St. John, N.B., published an interview with Charles H. Ward, 69, who fought with T. E. Lawrence and the Arab forces against the Turks as a member of the 60th London division. The interview, arranged by George Forham, manager of the Paramount Theatre in St. John, gave full credits to “Lawrence of Arabia” and its Paramount playdates. These aren't props! That's a live coon up in the tree and a mighty eager coon hound rarin' to get at him! This was the scene on top of a flatbed truck, which was equipped with sound effects and banners, in front of the Campus Theatre in Denton, Tex., on opening day of "Savage Sam." Real Space Suit Is Prize At Big Space Matineel A real (!) astronaut suit was given away at Richard Crosby jr.’s Gigantic Space Matinee at the Hollywood Theatre in California, Pa. Crosby, who operates the theatre and teaches in the junior high school, also advertised free membership cards in his Adventures of the Future Club ! On the screen at the Space Matinee were “The Lost Planet,” a science-fiction serial; “War of the Worlds” and “The 30Foot Bride of Candy Rock,” all for 35 cents. The winner of the astronaut suit appealed at the theatre the following week, taking tickets and on the stage. BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : Nov. 4, 1963 — 173 — 1