Exhibitors Herald (Oct-Dec 1922)

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52 EXHIBITORS HERALD November 11. 1922 There Are No Alibis OPENS Entirely New Program Each Week Beginning on Sunday Tsamm 'paramount sputum ^£°H2i;?^« * * OPENING WEEK * * a*ZEX£JS£2»* (Concluded front page 4$) essential to the complete success of any program. "Autumn Leaves," with a somewhat idealized woodland setting and ten singers in old-fashioned costumes, was the prologue. "Sweet Genevieve," "Little Brown Jug," "The Old Oaken Bucket" and other songs of the period led to "In the Gloaming," the concluding number. Paramount's excellent picturization of "The Old Homestead" followed immediately and closed the show, drawing the big hand of the evening. * * * The McVickers opening was remarkable for precision and adherence to schedule. Doors were opened promptly. The show started on the tick of the watch. Save for the banks of floral contributions, the presence of notables, film and theatre executives, and two or three minor miscalculations due to the inescapable human equation and the momentousness of the occasion, the performance ran off as smoothly as is expected in midweek. To Ralph T. Kettering's advertising campaign, in many respects the most extraordinary of its kind ever conducted, was due, no doubt, a line, four deep, that extended from the box office to and around the corner at 6 o'clock, more than an hour before the opening performance was scheduled to begin. "For You," the feature line in all newspaper and other advertising used, scored strongly with Chicagoans. It sets a high mark for the theatre to maintain. The opening performance was an auspicious beginning. OPENS \\rj<'' THURS., OCT. 26 &30 P M tSOjZXHi OPENING PROGRAM .~—"^yu • I III OLD I i< imim I Air TCOR the motion picture exhibitor whose program does not satisfy his patrons there are no alibis. Though storm, train wreck or faulty service intervene, though the exhibitor's intentions be of the purest and his efforts of utmost sincerity, the public does not condone failure to provide good amusement. To appreciate fully the causes of this condition is to recognize and avoid many pitfalls. It is human, though inconsistent, that in the purchase of entertainment the normal man is a careless buyer and an exacting owner. One item of a program, the most or the least important one, is sufficient to lead the average citizen to the box office. It is seldom that he looks beyond that item, until he has bought his ticket. Immediately after purchase of that bit of pasteboard and entry to the theatre this same average individual becomes as exacting as one who has bought a Rolls-Royce or a Rembrandt. The size of the admission fee is immediately forgotten and that which is exhibited upon the screen and rendered by the musicians must conform to a very hazy conception of perfection which each individual has worked out for himself. There is no explaining the phenomenon. It simply exists. To cope with this general inconsistency on the part of patrons successfully but one practical plan has been developed. That plan, or policy, admits of no letting down of standards on the part of the exhibitor for any consideration. That policy rules out the substitute feature, the cheap filler, the economical orchestra. On the face of it the policy seems a very expensive one. In practice, over an extended period, it proves a highly profitable one. A dark night, detrimental as are its effects, is preferable to a night of dissatisfied patrons. For a dark night an explanation will be accepted and the incident will be forgotten. For a bad program there are no explanations, and it is strangely easier for the above mentioned normal man to say, "Wasn't that a terrible picture?" than to say, "Wasn't that a great show?" Perhaps no preventable evil operates more disastrously to the disadvantage of the exhibitor seeking to follow this policy than failure of exchange to provide presentable film and accessories. In its very preventability lies the means of its elimination. Its elimination is but the exhibitor's due. i :{u ,f r. & ;{>:. :{u :{i :•. "n ££ finis riS fii fii riiffirfiifirfiiiurfilfirfi^^ ( Concluded from page 4j) had been favorable I would have broken my war time house record. Even as it was, the title of the picture, the music or something, converted some of my religious knockers, as they attended and are now among my best boosters. This stunt was a winner and a life saver for me and I am sure it will be for all exhibitors who try it. E. J. Milhon, Cozy Theatre, Hazelwood, Ind. DEAR MR. MILHON: We believe the title, "champion small town exhibitor," is yours by right of merit and population. If there is another exhibitor operating in a smaller city we would like to give his experiences space in these columns. Until such is heard from, at least, we hereby award you custody of the crown. ]\'hilc you didn't state it in just these words, we gather that you convert the surrounding towns into the equivalent of a big city by big time showmanship. Certainly the examples you submit are of that character. We have reproduced your dodger on ''The Roof Tree" as especially good. We didn't know such good printing was obtainable in such a small town. We'd like to hear from you often and to inspect some more of youf, compositions. — W. R. W . Coincidence Has Part In Baird Exploitation Coincidence, more often exhibitor enemy than exhibitor friend, contributed to the success of Vitagraph's "Black Beauty," as exploited and exhibited by J. W. Baird at his Crystal theatre, Pattonsburg, Mo. THEATRE EDITOR, Ex HIBITORS 1 1 ERALD. Dear Sir: We will send you a stunt we used to put over "Black Beauty." It -tire worked fine. Paragraph 3 sure put it over here. To top it off, when the train came on the screen a Wabash train passed the theatre, and it sure was real. The patrons cheered with joy. All took notice of the effect. J. W. Baird, Crystal Theatre. Pattonsburg, Mo, DEAR MR. BAIRD: As indicated above, it is not often that coincidence comes to the aid of the exhibitdjl But then, it is not often that the exhibitor makes it possible for coincidence to do so. The publication of the item about the Chicago judge who sentenced a man to read the book -would have been missed by almost anybody. For not missing it, and for using it so effectively in your herald, much credit is due you. As for the train effect. ive think you owe the Wabash a vote of thanks, although of course the timely arrival in this instance doesn't make up for the times its trains have arrived in the middle of a death scene. Many thanks for your initial contribution. And let us hear from you often. — W. R. W .