The Exhibitor (1953)

— ~ iayixb rr | fa7%e/iK£, Sell Your Product At a recent press conference conducted by Paramount Pictures to explain their new wide screen, one point was brought out which every exhibitor would do well to keep in mind these days. The point stressed was that no matter what process was used, and no matter how good it was, it would still take selling. This fact can not be overemphasized. Today, exhibitors are being supplied with techniques and equipment which will enable them to be in a better position than ever before to fight the influences of television, taxes, and public apathy. The public, as the result of the attention given to Cinerama, 3-D, CinemaScope, and the others, is starting to talk about movies again. They are interested and eager to see the new and exciting developments. This is what the industry has been attempting to do since it went into the post-war slump. However, the public is not going to maintain this interest if the industry does not make a maximum effort to keep it alive— and showmanship is what is needed. It hardly seems possible that a businessman would invest thousands in new equipment, take in an exciting new product, and then just open the store and hope that the public will somehow learn of it. And yet this is just what some theatremen are doing with the new technique. Selling a wide-screen or 3-D picture entails more than just taking an ad in the local paper, or announcing it on the marquee. Of course, these things should be done, but it is not enough! If yours is the first theatre in your locality to bring a new form of enter¬ tainment, contact local merchants, civic groups, the mayor, and do all in your power to drive home the fact that you are offering something new and different. The selling job should continue after the public enters the theatre. Make use of attractive and original displays pointing up the virtues of this new form of entertainment that you are bringing to them. If you are presenting a wide screen offering, don't just throw it on the screen. Give the public visual proof of what it means. If possible, open with a trailer on your regular size screen, explain¬ ing what is going to happen, and then cut to the wide screen, so your audience can actually see the difference. If you can't get a trailer, show a short or a newsreel first and then open to the new size. The technique is simple, but it is also effective because it allows everyone in the theatre to compare for themselves. Everyone agrees that motion pictures are finally putting on a new dress. The studios and equipment people are doing a won¬ derful job of supplying exhibitors with 3-D, wide-screen, and stereo¬ phonic sound equipment. Whether these innovations stand or fall will deoend largely on the exhibitor. If he applies equal parts of imagination and hard work to selling these things, then everyone, producer, distributor, exhibitor, and the public, will benefit. PHYSICAL THEATRE • sectional department of EXHIBITOR, published every fourth Wednesday by Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc., 246-48 North Clarion Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. All contents copyrighted and all reprint rights reserved. You have been smart to wait! Within a matter of weeks, a completely new revolutionary . . . Adaptable to WIDE UNLIMITED IN SIZE OR SHAPE This ALL-BRITE SCREEN has a radically new and improved prin¬ ciple in hanging ... a taut, smooth surface controlable at will. It is fungus-proof, wrinkleproof and soil-proof. Engineered abroad, there is nothing like it available in this country. U. S., Canada and Mexico exclusive Franchise owned by . . . and exclusive distribution through . . . 267 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY May 27, 1953 PHYSICAL THEATRE DEPARTMENT of EXHIBITOR PT-3