Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

TO A Showmanship Forum Presents Seven Ways to Increase Business NEW YORK — The most dramatic presentation of the Theatre Owners of America convention, and probably of any convention in the annals of exhibition, was the showmanship forum on the closing day, which was a show in itself. Robert W. Selig, vice-president of National General Corp., was the “producer” of the show which had the title of “How to Oil the Ticket Machine.” To give it a Halloween flavor, a huge reproduction of a pumpkin was on stage. From this pumpkin at various times came beautiful girls to accent certain portions of the speakers’ talks. And the presentation ended with the parading into the room of a sixpiece band playing “Happy Days Are Here Again.” TICKET MACHINE GAG USED In opening the meeting, Selig said that the odd-looking podiums in front of each speaker were electronically controlled so that, if any one of the speakers was in error in his talk, the machine in front of him would buzz. At the end of the meeting, there had been no buzzing, but each speaker then pressed a button and the podiums turned out to be disguised ticket machines which shot hundreds of theatre tickets into the air. The devices were supplied by General Register Corp. Each speaker was introduced in song by a pre-recorded tape which mentioned his name, home and his topic. Opening the seminar was John Corbett of Penn-Paramount Theatres, Scranton, Pa., who discussed the “teeming teenage market.” He described methods used by his circuit to attract the young patrons such as disc jockey shows, radio promotions and heavy advertising in school publications. He said that teenage fashion shows, teenage premieres in cooperation with merchants and personnal appearances of starlets had been very effective. RADIO HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Ronnie Otwell of the E. D. Martin circuit of Columbus, Ga., stressed the importance of radio and television in promotion, with the accent on radio. He quoted, by reading and tape recordings, several outstanding showmen who had found radio more effective than newspaper ads, provided the radio campaign was well planned. M. B. Smith of the Commonwealth Theatres, Kansas City, preached the gospel of sponsored shows, telling of the success he had had with a Ford dealer taking over a theatre for a day as a sales “rally,” which paid the theatre $1,200. A radio station >r John G. Corbett Robert W. Selig M. B. Smith Ronnie Otwell i Ernest Emerling Ed Seguin leased another theatre for a merchant tieup which drew 8,000 persons. He said industries were anxious for such shows and all exhibitors should explore the potentials. Jack Loeks, Grand Rapids exhibitor, discussed similar experiences and advocated creating a solid investment in the community. In a tieup with a supermarket chain, he has special shows on 15 Tuesday nights per year, showing rereleases and drawing 15,000 persons. He also has tieups with merchants, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and various clubs and organizations. Suburbia was the theme of Ernest Emerling’s talk. Emerling, vice-president of Loew’s Theatres, told of the importance of catering to local newspaper editors, school contacts, beautiful baby contests, the Golden Age Club and keeping the lobby in tune with the seasons. He said beauty salons were excellent spots in which to plant window cards or other material in shop windows. Although some of the speakers played down newspaper advertising, Edward Seguin of the Balaban & Katz circuit, Chicago, stressed newspaper advertising as highly essential to all campaigns and he urged the use of color in newspaper ads. He said color ad costs had come down and the quality had gone up. At the conclusion of the talks, Selig said there was another important ingredient in oiling the ticket machines and that was “elbow grease.” Elsa Maxwell, 80, Dead NEW YORK — Elsa Maxwell, 80, worldfamed hostess and party-giver who appeared in several pictures in the 1940s, died at New York Hospital Friday (1). Miss Maxwell starred in “Hotel for Women” <20th-Fox) in 1940 and “Public Deb No. 1,” also for 20th-Fox, in 1941, and in “Stage Door Canteen,” distributed by United Artists in 1943. Convention Attendance Hits Record 1,400 NEW YORK — Theatre Owners of America’s 16th annual convention has passed into history and there is no question that it was the largest in its history, as well as the largest in the history of its predecessors, American Theatres Ass’n and Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America. The combined registration of TOA, National Ass’n of Concessionaires, Theatre Equipment and Supply Manufacturers Ass’n and Theatre Equipment Dealers Ass’n was approximately 1,400, not counting those who came in for a day or just to see the tradeshow. Practically every phase of the industry was incorporated into the sessions, with authorities in their fields giving advice and information on topics of importance for theatre men. If there could be any criticism of the convention — and yet more complimentary than critical — it was that it might be termed “too big,” almost unwdeldly for those who had the responsibility of keeping the events on schedule and in operation. Therefore, special tributes should go to Edward Fabian, convention chairman; Joseph Alterman, executive director; George Roscoe, director of exhibitor relations, and Herman Silver, director of public relations. The question of whether children should be admitted free to drive-ins was a highlight topic for discussion at a joint session of TOA, NAC, TESMA and TEDA at which A1 Donahue of Great Falls, Mont., was the moderator. It was the consensus of some that there should be a charge for children under 12, but the majority held that free admission should continue. It was brought out that exhibitors were losing a lot of money under the policy, but the outlook for a change was not bright. In some instances, it was said that charges were made for children when blockbuster type of films were shown, the average being 75 cents. It also was reported that a charge was made for Walt Disney pictures and that there had been few, if any, complaints. David Kamsky of Richmond, Va., told New Futura Lamp Shown To Strong Electric Dealers NEW YORK— Dealers for The Strong Electric Corp., in attendance at the TOATESMA-TEDA-NAC convention and tradeshow heard a detailed description of the features and operational advantages of the new Strong Futura projection lamp, at the City Squire Motor Inn. The presentation was made at a breakfast meeting by Arthur J. Hatch, president of Strong Electric, who also discussed the sales policy on this new lamp. Harold Plumadore, product engineer of the motion picture division of Strong Electric, discussed the development of the new lamp and answered technical questions. The new Bi-Powr silicon-type rectifier, cold type reflectors, the new Strong X-16 xenon lamp for 35mm and 16mm projectors, and a new slide projector with xenon light source were described by Clifford Callender, sales manager of the theatre equipment division. Also leading discussions was Bill White, field sales representative for Strong. 16 BOXOFFICE November 11, 1963