Exhibitors Herald (Jan-Mar 1920)

THE TEMPLE CLOCK "The Miracle Man" was a powerful picture. When "The Frog" made his painful way up the hill to the home of "The Miracle Man," folowing the little crippled boy and followed in turn by the lady in the wheel chair, those who had watched the picture from the first were given one of the greatest dramatic shocks on record. The person who had arrived at the theatre at just this point, had seated himself just in time to see the miracle worked, experienced no such sensation. He had not been prepared by the events that had gone before. And the next show, when that point had been reached again, the edge of the climax had been dulled. The observer knew what to expect. There can be no question as to the advisability of getting your audience seated before the beginning of the feature photoplay. If you can present a feature to an auditorium full of patrons who are comfortably seated for a permanent stay, instead of the shifting, changing crowd that is the typical motion picture audience, that feature has a much greater chance of impressing favorably. There is a way to accomplish that end. Simple Device Works The Temple theatre, Toledo, O., has a simple method of stabilizing its feature audiences. It is a means which may be adopted with practically no effort by any and every exhibitor. We are sure that the Temple theatre will not object to other theatres appropriating its device. The audiences that view features at the Temple theatre are fixed audiences. The persons who occupy Temple seats at the close of the feature are approximately 100 per cent the same as those who view the first title. The little clock, listing in compact arrangement the starting hours of the seven performances which are given daily, has brought about this condition. We .have made a reproduction of the drawn dial which is used and present it herewith for the guidance of those who wish to use the idea to stabilize their own feature audience. Comedies Less Important It is less important that all patrons remain in their seats while the comedy, news reel and scenic or educational is being run off. These interesting short subjects have entertainment qualities of a different sort. They do not depend, as does the feature, upon the element of suspense. Any portion of their content is interesting for itself alone and without regard to the relation of that portion to scenes that have gone before or will follow. The ideal condition, of course, would be one wherein the theatre would be completely emptied and refilled at the conclusion of each performance. That, however, is a practical impossibility. When a patron arrives a few minutes after the first reel of the short subjects has been started, you cannot ask him to stand in line, or even to amuse himself in the lounging room until the beginning of a new This clock face, appearing in every advertisement used by the Temple theatre, Toledo, O., insures the feature attraction of a settled, unchanging audience. performance. You must admit him as promptly as space will permit if you are to hold his patronage. Plan Trains Clientele The most that can be hoped for is the training of your clientele to arrive during the exhibition of the short subjects. That aim accomplished, you can be assured that the feature of your program, the part that in nine cases out of ten determines the patron's approval or disapproval of your show, will have the best possible chance of giving satisfaction. The Temple clock is the most effective device that has been advanced to accomplish this training of the picture audience. It has many advantages over the other schemes that have been tried out. Certain exhibitors have attempted to train their audiences by holding them in line, outside the auditorium, until the feature is completed. If you have ever been forced by such an exhibitor to stand in line you know how ineffectual is the attempt. The result is not a resolution on the part of the patron to arrive earlier next time. It is a resolution to go to another theatre next time. Appeal at Logical Time The logical thing to do is to appeal to the patron before he arrives 67