Exhibitors Herald (Oct-Dec 1922)

December 16, 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 49 ABOVE: A two-way banner announces "The Eternal Flame" foi the Wayne theatre, Greenville, O. A combination flat gives color to Gordon's Olympia, Boston, playing "The Bond Boy." Thiee-way cutout-painting banners herald "The Silent Call" at the Empire, Syracuse. BELOW: E. J. Weisfeldt. Strand theatre, Milwaukee, broadsides a painting based on "The Eternal Flame." "Skin Deep" is admirably carded in shadow box by the Branford, Newark. One of the best "Smilin' Through" vehicles advertises that picture for the Capitol, Reading, Pa. Lobbies Made To Fit Purse Pay Dividend The lobby that pays is the lobby that fits the purse and the picture. Walter F. Eberhardt, of the Associated First National home office, brings out the point in the contributed story that follows, written after an intensive survey of the methods applied to First National attractions by theatres of various sizes and illustrated above. As varied as a chameleon's coatings and as shifting as the sands of the seas i are the methods of theatre dressing that have come to light in the exhibiting of i . First National attractions. From a twen li ty-four sheet cutout fiont to a handpainted lobby frame by J. Gordon Bennett is a long cry; but it expresses adequately the difference in theatre • , fronts that meet the needs of different houses throughout the country. The eternal problem of how much should be spent in dressing up a house is one that the individual exhibitor must solve for himself. Shakespeare supplied the original answer in the phrase: "Costly thy raiment as thy purse can buy." '• The answer is to balance expenditures and drawing power at the point where they will leave the exhibitor with the greatest profit. * * * The Wavne theatre. Greenville. O.. (pop. 8,000) has found its medium in two converging signs, forming a triangle with the theatre front, above the entrance. This was used in showing "The Eternal Flame" and was supplemented by cardboard painted signs that covered the columns on each side of the entrance. Despite its downtown location Gordon's Olympia theatre, because of the immense traffic that passes the streets and the narrow space available, has been obliged to confine its exploitation more to methods that do not take up footage directly in front of the theatre. Consequently we see this cosmopolitan house advertising "The Bond Boy" with a huge sign stretching over the top of the entrance. The figures on the sign were taken from the six-sheet, impressed on cardboard and the lettering painted on. * * * Equally simple and effective is the double-sided card used by the Empire theatre. Syracuse. N. Y. Three framed strips, hung from the marquee, faced pedestrians approaching from any one of the three sides of the theatre front. On the inside of the card was a sign for another attraction, the reversible arrangement making it possible to use the same card for two different shows. The example at hand exploited "The Silent Call." The interest in the dog star was so great that this was regarded as sufficient for the theatre front; but additional cutouts of the dog's head were used and proved a potent drawing card. With "Brawn of the North" now running at first-run houses, the point is worth remembering. Slightly more elaborate is the handpainted lobby front card that commemo rated the run of "The Eternal Flame" at the Strand theatre, Milwaukee. Manager E. J. Weisfeldt concentrated the whole theme of the title in a painting, about 30 feet wide, that covered the front of the theatre. Trellis fronts, so familiar as the result of nation-wide exploitation on "Smilin' Through" can be constructed at a reasonable cost while a street ballyhoo is a matter of individual taste, ranging from ten dollars to $500, according to the length of time and degree to which the individual exhibitor cares to exploit his product. The accompanying photograph from the Capitol theatre, Reading. Pa., illustrates what is probably the best and most uniform theatre front used on anyone picture. The "Smilin' Through" garden fence and trellis front have become a mental association with the feature because of their constant appearance with it. Whatever latitude the manager may have in his expenses when it comes to theatre fronts, the use of a specialized house artist is generally an expensive proposition. It comes by its heritage rightly on the assumption that art is not to be bought for a song. For theatres catering to house class audiences, appreciative of art. this appropriation has justified itself. The First National theatre in Omaha and the Branford in Newark and the Strand, New York, are merely three of the first-run houses with artists whose work has come to be a part of a program and whose art panels are looked for with the same degree of interest as the week's news bulletins and the Saturday night football scores. * * * Theatre front dressing can run from