20th Century-Fox Dynamo (February 11, 1956)

EXHIBITORS WELCOME AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT SKOURAS BIRTHDAY SALUTE Inspired Managers, Salesmen And Bookers Find Them Eager For Opportunity To Materially Back His Ceaseless Drive To Exalt Screen Entertainment And Expand Its Patronage If first reports of authenticated results achieved even at this early stage of the inspired drive of the 33 branches in the United States and six in Canada are any criterion, every goal in the March 23-31 observance of Spyros P. Skouras Week will be attained! Dedicated by Home Office sales execu- tives, who ask the field to effect the exhibi- tion of the 20th Century-Fox trade mark, via a feature or short subject booking, on the screen of every theatre in the United States and Canada, Spyros P. Skouras Week is being wholeheartedly received by exhibi- tors in large and small situations. This heartening reaction of exhibitors has prompted division, assistant, district and branch managers to predict a new record for feature and short subjects bookings. Every division and branch manager con- tacted by Dynamo, in substance, said: "This drive could not have come at a better time. It gives up a great opportunity to clean up a lot of unsold and unplayed pro- duct, both features and shorts.” Moreover, from every territory came this encouraging report: "Every exhibitor and circuit contacted so far is happy to go along with us and there is no doubt we’ll book more theatres and more product than we have booked in any prior seven-day period, Holy Week notwithstanding.” They report, on the basis of the result of their first solicitations, that exhibitors ’ enthusiasm never was more genuine than it is apparent in their eagerness to participate in the personal salute to the leadership Mr. Skouras has been providing this industry. Exhibition leaders are particularly mind- ful that no single executive has dedicated himself as tirelessly to the exploration and exploitation of means to exalt motion picture 'entertainment and through advance- ments promote an expansion in theatre patronage as has Mr. Skouras. While Spyros P. Skouras Week has been 2A jointly proclaimed by Director of Distribu- tion A1 Lichtman, Executive Assistant General Sales Manager W. C. Gehring, As- sistant General Sales Manager Arthur Silver- stone and Sales Managers Glenn Norris and Alex Harrison, its success is wholly de- pendent on field activities. And, that field is responding with an activity characteristic of the part it has played in numerous prior history-writing drives. No time has been lost in mobilization of the campaign in every area. No time has been lost in communicating to every motion picture theatre operator the purpose of Spyros P. Skouras Week. The fact that March 25-31 is Holy Week is considered an advantage rather than a hurdle by the field! Actually, that week not only embraces Mr. Skouras’ birthday, on March 28, but also marks the eve of the 14th anniversary of his assumption of the presidency of this world-wide organization. However, while the week is dedicsted to Mr. Skouras, managerial forces in the field view it as an exceptional opportunity to clean up delinquencies and clear the road for immediate and maximum capitalization of the powerful attractions forthcoming in the second quarter, beginning with Easter Week, April 1-7. Branch managers, acting on their divi- sion managers 1 instructions, did not wait for their normal week-end sales meetings to start the Spyros P. Skouras Week cam- paign ball rolling. Some brought their sales- men promptly into the branches on the day following receipt of Mr. Gehring’s telegram announcing the dedication. Others con- tacted them by telephone. But,'in every single territory, the Spyros P. Skouras Week campaign was rolling with- in 24 hours after the proclamation wire had reached the branch. As a result, within 48 hours after that wire’s receipt, bookings began piling up. By the beginning of this week, the field count showed dating progressing at such a daily increasing momentum that no specu- lation is involved in the prediction that a new mark for a seven-day screen repre- sentation for this company’s product is a certainty. Salesmen and bookers, under their man- agers’ leadership, are resorting to an enter- prise that has become a famed characteris- tic of theirs, in their determination to achieve the objective fixed by the Home Office com- mittee. Most managers have listed all bookable prints in the branch vaults and supplied their salesmen, as well as bookers, with lists. Re-issue combinations are moving partic- ularly promisingly in every single territory, judging from first field reports. These have been the means of securing valuable play- ing time in first-run theatres in eastern key situations, these reports show. But, basically, the Spyros P. Skouras Week campaign is a "grass-roots” affair. Its success will be reflected by the number of theatres booked. Home Office sales officials’ emphasis on "the exceptional opportunity to book older pictures, re-issue combinations, re- peat engagements of topnotch attractions, short subjects and every reel of our over- all product” has cued the field drive for quantity of play dates. This push for bookings involves not only CinemaScope features, short subjects and Terry toons, but also all bookable 2-D feature and short subject releases. Thus, the field is concentrating not merely on the regular 13,683 CinemaScope- equipped sales possibilities, but on 23,430 bookable equipped and non-equipped, in- cluding 2,917 Drive-Ins, theatres in the United States and Canada. ft Continued on page 3A, column 1