The Exhibitor (1952)

Vol. 48, No. 2 At 8:30 or 8:40, It’s Still Showmanship A Canadian Idea Spreads Across The Border, And Brings With It New Developments In Merchandising CALL it an art film or an “off-beat” picture, the fact remains that wherever motion picture theatres operate there is always some sort of an audience for that type of show. The problem for the exhibitor to solve is: How best can I attract this type of patronage and still make a profit? Although so-called art houses have sprung up in many cities, and some the¬ atres have experimented at various times with this type of subject, it remained for Canada to come up with a concrete answer. Under the guidance of Nat Taylor, president and managing director, Twinex Century Theatres Corporation Limited, and his wife, Yvonne Taylor, the idea of operating a theatre on specific nights for the audiences who would appreciate the “different” kind of show started, and it was christened “Curtain At 8:30.” At the present time, “Curtain At 8: 30” is being carried out in 29 situations across Canada, and, from all reports, this type of policy of catching the “lost” audience is clicking. Chosen for the initial experiment was the town of Orillia, of about 10,000 popu¬ lation, situated about 74 miles north of Toronto, and with two theatres, both operated by Twentieth Century Theatres. In the past, some minorities there have clamored for showing certain films which have been appearing in Toronto in such theatres as the International Cinema, the Town Cinema, the Hyland, and, occasion¬ ally, in a Famous Players house. From time to time, this type of program has been shown in Orillia with unsatisfactory results. Demand, however, continued, and it became more and more evident that in the interest of good public relations a way The success of the "Curtain at 8:30" idea, a hit in 29 situations in Canada, is attributed to Mrs. Yvonne Taylor and her husband, Nat Taylor, president and managing director, fwinex Century Theatres Corporation Limited, Canada. should be found for the showing of these films. After studying the problem quite considerably, the conclusion was reached that there was a segment of the public who sincerely wanted to see these films but that the method of presentation was wrong. When questioned directly, the people who were complaining about not having the opportunity to see these films usually admitted that they didn’t know such films were playing or that they had a previous engagement or made some other excuse. Taking all the facts into consideration, it became clear that the pattern lay along the line of setting aside one night a week for a period of time for these films, as an experiment. Naturally, Thursday night was selected because it is the worst night of the week, as it is in many theatres. Since the picture would run for one night only, and a full house would be more satisfactory, it was decided that one show, presented at 8:30 p. m., could make this more of a special event than running a continued show. Then, too, most motion pictures, but particularly this type of motion picture, are considerably more en¬ joyable when seen from the beginning. Obviously, with the expense of bringing in a program for one showing only and the attendant cost of publicizing, a higher admission price had to be charged. If the 4