The Exhibitor (1954)

16 EXHIBITOR Qeiter Management | Valuable Exploitation Keys To Profitable Merchandising kIto :the 'STARS ■ COLOR THRILLER VOIT me/ I whmmo A 1 r*t :£K St W Alfred Kaufman, John Viccaro, and Andrew Kraus, the trio of managers at the Globe, New York City, recently brought near-record opening day business for United Artists' "Go, Man, Go" with several well-timed ticket¬ selling promotions. On the left is seen a crowd lined up at the boxoffice an hour prior to opening time; Slim Gaillard, recording artist, who pre¬ sented the first 50 patrons autographed records of the title song from the picture; and Dane Clark, star of the film, who made a lobby appearance and presented basketballs to 25 amateur basketball teams buying tickets. ” Beachhead " Campaign Storms Miami Area Miami, Fla. — A spectacular, full-scale marine beachhead assault involving com¬ bat landing craft, jet fighters, and heli¬ copters captured the attention of Miami last fortnight as United Artists’ “Beach¬ head” rolled into the Carib, Miami, and Miracle. The city-wide premiere ballyhoo was arranged with the full cooperation of the U. S. Marine Corps. About 1,200 marines in full battle dress stormed from a flotilla of amphibious “ducks” and LSMR’s and waded ashore at Miami Beach to “attack” the city. With air defense sirens wailing and jets zoom¬ ing overhead, civil defense units went into action in a full-scale test of the city’s ability to meet an attack. The police and fire departments also participated. The “invasion” was climaxed when marines “captured” the Carib and the mayor “surrendered” the city to the leatherneck commander. Additional Marine Corps support for the “Beachhead” opening was provided by a $100,000 traveling exhibit of marine weapons and battle trophys, which toured high schools and attracted thousands of Miamians in theatre-front stands at the Emerling Plugs Tea To Aid "Rose Marie" _ NEW YORK — Ernest Emerling, ad¬ vertising and publicity director, Loew’s Theatres, recently took advantage of the rise in coffee prices by plugging a cup of tea for MGM’s “Rose Marie” with a streamer reading: “Drink tea! It’s relaxing and reasonable. See ‘Rose Marie’! It’s delightful, tuneful, and in CinemaScope at Loew’s.” More than 100,000 streamers have been sent to Loew’s managers for dis¬ tribution to restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores. Needless to say, the idea clicked. Carib, Miracle, and Miami. A mobile battery of huge Long Tom cannon carry¬ ing “Beachhead” playdate announcements rolled through the city’s main thorough¬ fares. Lobby displays of the latest marine combat equipment sold the battle action at the three theatres. A detail of marine combat heroes was posted in each of the theatres to answer questions about the weapons and assist in the recruiting drive. Chartered airplanes towing “Beachhead” banners drew additional attention to the opening and a series of window displays spotlighted the big bow in Miami’s busiest shopping centers. An effective bally stunt sent a brigade of models through the downtown district to distribute en¬ velopes containing sand from Bougainville, where the marines made one of their greatest assaults of World War II. Envel¬ opes were imprinted with full credits. A local marine “Sweetheart,” who ballyhooed the three-theatre getaway in appearances on radio and TV shows, was selected after a canvass of the city by walkie-talkie equipped marines, who radioed the names and addresses of can¬ didates to “Beachhead” campaign head¬ quarters. Shea, Schine Houses Aid "Kettle" Promotion NEW YORK — It was announced last week that for the third successive year, the 50 -theatre Schine Circuit in five states has joined with U-I to mark the advent of spring by a pre¬ release of one of the Universal-Inter¬ national “Ma And Pa Kettle” pictures, with “Ma And Pa Kettle At Htftne,” featuring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. Again this year, 25 theatres of the Shea Circuit in four states are joining with the Schine Circuit for the “Ma And Pa Kettle” pre-release. Both circuits are highlighting the theme of “Springtime Is Kettletime” with special promotional campaigns, including special newspaper advertis¬ ing, displays, trailers, and manager competitions. “Ma And Pa Kettle At Home” is scheduled for an April re¬ lease. The 50 Schine theatres partici¬ pating in the “Kettle Festival” are in New York, Ohio, Delaware, Kentucky, and Maryland. The 25 Shea houses are in Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Here is one of the many "Prince Valiant" displays recently set at the American Toy Fair, New York City, by 20th Century-Fox at the 51st annual convention of some 50 toy manufacturers. Meetings between "Prince Valiant" licensees numbering top producers ofi children's toys and department and chain store buyers and executives were held to develop campaigns dove-tailing with the film. March 24, 1954