Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

Manager Becomes Walking Boxoffice as Irma' Revives Good Old Days! Few complaints are heard among theatremen in Dallas against the amusement editors of the daily newspapers regarding the support they give motion pictures. Dallas newspaper cooperation is generally rated as nothing short of splendid. An example is a cheerful article of upbeat import, and helpful on a specific film, which appeared in the Dallas Morning News, with a two-column illustration, during the long run of “Irma La Douce.” Since the article, written by amusement editor William A. Payne, concerns a striking bit of good promotion news, it is reprinted herewith. GOOD OLD DAYS BACK AT ESQUIRE AS PATRONS RUSH TO SEE ‘IRMA’ — Headline in Dallas News By WILLIAM A. PAYNE Theatremen are prone to refer to the war years and those immediately following as “the good old days” of motion picture patronage when, they say, “All you had to do was open the theatre doors and stand back to get out of the way of the crowds.” If that observation is true, then “the” good old days are not as far back in the limbo of the past as some would think. In fact, they have returned to the Esquire Theatre. Four times a day and five times on Saturday and Sunday, Manager Jimmy Jimmy Cain, manager of the Esquire Theatre in Dallas, became a walking boxoffice before almost every performance of "Irma La Douce," selling tickets in front of the theatre to "rush" the patrons into the theatre. Cain and his Esquire staff are literally overwhelmed by the crush of patrons crowding in to see “Irma La Douce.” Cain, however, does not wait to get caught in the crush at the door. He meets the crowds on the sidewalk in front of the theatre, equipped with a handful of bills and change and long strings of tickets looped about his neck to become sort of walking boxoffice. In a way, Cain is a victim of his own psychology. Patrons have been encouraged to see “Irma” from the first and the push to get in the theatre naturally is heaviest just before starting time of the performance. By operating his portable boxoffice in addition to the regular ticket window, Cain is able to handle several hundred patrons in rapid order. The schedule calls for only 15 minutes between performances. In that time, Cain must clear the theatre and get those waiting seated. There are, of course, early birds who buy their tickets 20 and 30 minutes before a performance and then wait outside. There are many others, though, who form the long lastminute lines. That is when Cain goes into action with his tickets on the sidewalk. “Irma” . . . has been a boxoffice sensation in Dallas. Interstate Theatres, which operates the Esquire, has not released exact boxoffice figures on the engagement, but will say that “Irma” is outgrossing every other film which the circuit is showing in its Dallas first-run movie houses. I Three-Day Burial Sparks Four-Feature Chiller General manager Charles J. Lombardo employed a novel stunt, so old it’s brand new again, to boost the weekend business at his Cloverleaf Drive-In Theatre in Cleveland. He brought ’em in with “a burial.” On Friday evening, a man was hypnotized before the audience, placed in a specially constructed coffin and the lid was nailed down. The “burial” was not too far from the concession stands to make eating also worth while. The “coffin” had a large tube, special lights, etc., so that the parade of happy “mourners” could pass by the coffin and see that the man remained buried for three days. At the end of that time he was dug up, brought out of his hypnotic trance and seemed none the worse for his close association with “six-feet under.” The “grave” was covered by a gigantic tent, and on the burial night Ghoulardi, a TVwit who has created a following by ridiculing old films being shown by his station, was present to help out the ceremonies and make the burial a greater pull, for he has a youthful following. In addition to the three-day stunt, Manager Lombardo offered Premature Burial, The Undead, Haunted Strangler and Fiend Without a Face. Everything added up to double business. Nervo-Rama Spook Show! Shock Copy for Herald Heralds, 8xl2y2 inches, printed on one ial side of pale blue stock, announced a of Nervo-Rama Spook Show on a Friday and Saturday at the Center Theatre in Weldon, N.C. Manager Cal Cannon used this copy: “NERVO-RAMA Spook Show . . . How much SHOCK can you stand? ... 1 hour, 2 hours or 5 full hours of Savage Terror never before shown to mankind or woman! “WE WARN YOU . . . These pictures are in color . . . The blood is red . . . The screams are yours. “See — Vincent Price, Peter Cushing. See . . . More Hori’or than ever before . . . Your heart will pound . . . Your blood will Freeze. “HORRIFYING . . . BLOOD CHILLING . . . MONSTROUS. “See at your own risk BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE . . . THE FLY . . . THE HOUSE OF USHER. “Medical supplies in the lobby at all times. “Nerve -Shattering Shock . . . After seeing this monsterpiece 5 out of 6 will pull the cover over their heads.” AA Rereleasing 'Capone' And 'Pay or Die' Pictures Due to the public interest in Cosa Nostra aroused by the McClellan committee hearings, Allied Artists is rereleasing two films dealing with Cosa Nostra operations in the United States. One of the combination is “A1 Capone,” reputed king-pin of the Chicago Mafia. The other is “Pay or Die,” an expose of Mafia operations. New advertising and promotional material, pegged on the Cosa Nostra disclosures, has been prepared for point-of-sale merchandising by the exhibitor. BOXOFFICE Showmandiser :: Nov. 4, 1963 Dr. Charles LeRoy casts a hypnotic spell (left) over his patient at the Cloverleaf Drive-In at Cleveland, prior to a three-day burial near the concession stand. No pipes were run to the patient five feet underground. However, a lorge glass-covered tube, seen extending from box at right, placed the patient on view at all times for the drive-in audiences. 2 —174 —