Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

January 17, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 29 fTHETHEATRE O^y^^D^artment of Practical Showmanship WEEK’S LETTERS SPAN NATION Here*s Code Powers Finds Makes Money What is your money-making code? Can you tell it in 100 words? J. P. Powers, Bijou theatre, New Haven, Conn., has done it in less than that and every word counts. Mr. Powers’ plan reads: “Buy closely and make every penny work itself to death. “Be sure you have something to advertise and advertise what you have. “Give patrons a good program with a good feature, good music, attractiveness, comfort and cleanliness. “Weak nights can be helped by not giving weak programs. Give out a list of what you intend to play, let audiences select by vote, and use your own judgment as to what to play, but let it be strong.” Let’s Make It A New Column Mr. Powers’ plan suggests a series. If it impresses you that way, write your plan in similar form and send it in. ''Adiy not make it a weekly column? (Who’ll suggest a name for it?) Fundamentals are accountable eventually for every theatre success or failure. Proper direction of effort is essential to every individual picture campaign and the consistent welfare of the bank balance. Let’s assemble the fundamentals in one place where they’ll total a sure-fire box office policy. INSIDE INFORMATION t^'VT’OU must have inside information as J to what people want in pictures,” said a patron the other day, whereupon we admitted that we have. Then we explained how we could know in advance just how our patrons would react to a certain picture. You see, the picture had been exhibited a week before in a distant city of similar size and makeup. The theatre owner there had reported the fact to “Exhibitors Herald,” a trade journal of the motion picture business that prints about 500 such reports from theatreowners all over the country each week. That’s how we get this “inside information.” Of course when we show the picture before any other theatre has shown it, we aren’t quite so sure, but we do know how a clientele like ours reacted to a dozen pictures of like type and there isn’t much guessing involved. This is, of course, a sort of trade secret, but we feel that our patrons are entitled to know it. This Week — HOWMEN’S letters from California, Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, Iowa, West Virginia, Michigan, Washington and Kentucky, with numerous other contributions unaccompanied by letter, are published in “The Theatre” this week. Subjects treated cover the whole wide range of practical showmanship. Exhibitors read and write “The Theatre” for mutual benefit. Every exhibitor is invited to read it, write it, and profit by it. WRITE A LETTER NOW F you’ve ever had trouble getting music stores to cooperate with you in picture exploitation, you should have none such when you show “The Lost World,” W atterson R. Rothacker's First National attraction. The song published by Henry Watterson, Inc., bears the same title and the music is by Rudolf Friml, a composer whose name stands for the best in modern music. Words are by Harry B. Smith. It’s a ballad that should become popular on its own account and the tie-up possibilities are manifest. * * * Features scheduled for next week include a letter from R. H. Klock, whose contributions are as valuable as they are infrequent, discussing the cash value of juvenile patronage. Whatever may be your views in the matter, you must not miss his statistics. Questionnaire THE THEATRE, “Exhibitors Herald.” In my experience I have found the following subjects to be of the numerically indicated space importance in theatre house organs. CURRENT PROGRAM COMING ATTRACTIONS. . SOLD ADVERTISING EDITORIAL (POLICY) CURRENT TOPICS (Name) (Theatre) (City) (State) Seeks Iiieal House Organ Copy Scheme What is the ideal proportion of house organ contents? How much editorial copy, how much paid advertising and how much of the other major divisions should be used? These are questions asked by E. A. Snyder, Virginia and Rialto theatres. Champaign, 111., with a view toward working out an ideal copy apportionment scheme for theatre publications. Mr. Snyder’s letter follows: “Concerning the house organ department, I have this suggestion. Anybody preparing a house organ considers it as being made up of the following elements : 1. Current Program. 2. Coming Attractions. 3. Sold Advertising 4. Editorial (Policy). 5. General Topics. “We would like to get opinions from different editors regarding the composition of a program, analyzing the value of these elements in terms of proportionate space and emphasizing to which the theatre patron gives most attention. “Of course wc realize that there could be no fast rule established, but from the copies of programs received we note that some place a great deal of stress on coming attractions, some entirely on the current program, some eliminate all outside advertising, and some stress editorial and policy. “We, of course, mix it up pretty well and try to make it as interesting as possible, using only enough outside advertising to pay for the program. “We would like to hear some discussion along this line, as it might do us all some good ; for after all the house organ that interests the patron is the one we all want to publish.” Questionnaire Is Provided A questionnaire embodying the house organ contents listed by Mr. Snyder is published upon this page for the convenience of other exhibitor publishers in responding to his suggestion. By use of the numerical system for indicating the order of importance it will be possible to work out an unquestionably valuable scale. As Mr. Snyder points out, no set scale of this sort can be rigidly adhered to in all cases. The preponderous importance of this or that special attraction, the seasonal requirements, a dozen considerations argue against the advisability of this. Nevertheless, a definite scale of proportions will be found of utmost value as a working basis upon which the makeup of all issues can he computed.