Exhibitors Herald (1927)

December 31, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 37 At Last! A Real Theatre Dedication Did you ever go to the opening of a beautiful, new theatre, only to come away disgusted because of a blatant, boasting, arrogant dedication trailer? More than likely you have for there have been plenty of them thrown upon the screens of new theatres. What’s Your Reaction to This Dedication? We believe that every one of you will rejoice with us upon the opening of this palace of motion picture entertainment, and to every lover of beauty this theatre is dedicated. Millions have been spent in erecting it. Scores of the best artizans in the country collaborated to make this theatre the last word in beauty , comfort and luxury. They have succeeded far beyond even our own hopes. The romance of Old Spain has been transplanted to this spot for your own entertainment. We believe you will revel in the splendors and grandeur that we have built into this mammouth theatre. We have searched throughout the world for the art treasures that have been scattered with a lavish hand throughout the spacious lounges, corridors and foyer. We invite you to come each week and enjoy with us the entertainment we have planned for you. The greatest pictures that motion picture producers have to offer have been purchased and the best talent of the stage has been secured. This theatre offers you the best entertainment money can buy. We hope you will take advantage of it. “Dress Parade ” Has Huge Campaign in Milwaukee House The attendance of General Charles King, oldest living graduate of West Point, was the highlight of the banner engagement of Pathe’s “Dress Parade” at the PalaceOrpheum theatre in Milwaukee, which was exploited by a spectacular campaign. As a starter, the house increased its advertising space in the newspapers and had “Dress Parade” 24 sheets posted in a dozen prominent spots. The theatre lobby came in for a full share of attention to showmanship detail. A cut-out of the marching cadets from the 24 sheet was hung over the main entrance ; 20 cut-outs of the threesheet cadet, life-size, were placed in military formation ; 10 each side of the lobby and three large frames of special stills attracted attention. At every show the In contrast to this braggadocio type of dedications, when the new Shore theatre, a Chicago neighborhood house at 75th street and Essex avenue, opened December 29, Ernest J. Krug, the exhibitor, used one of the most sincere, modest and fitting dedications seen by this writer in many a day. It is printed here on the column to the right. Compare it with the dedication used by another theatre, printed on the column to the left. Both dedications were used as trailers by the theatres and were run at erach performance during the opening week. Where one dedication boasts and brags, the other submits. “We do not proclaim — we submit,” says the Shore dedication. In that short sentence a whole treatise is written on theatre management. Several weeks' ago “The Theatre” carried a story called “Thumbs Down on Ad Superlatives,” which put forth the need for a change in picture advertising. It was written by a veteran exhibitor, Toe Mayer of the Palace theatre, Hamilton, O. Mayer has found that it pays to cut out the superlatives in his advertising and to say no more about a picture than it deserves. As a dedication, this dedication does the same thing that Mayer does in its theatre advertising. All the boasting and bragging in the world cannot make your patrons like your theatres or the pictures you run in it. And when you promise more than you give, you have destroyed your patrons’ confidence in yourself and your theatre. When you give just a bit more than you promise, you are building goodwill and creating friends for your theatre. If the Shore theatre adopts the policy that is written between the lines of its dedication, it will prove a success. It might not be a bad idea to paste this dedication in your scrap book. You may want to dedicate a theatre some day. U. S. Army had two sentries stationed in front and gave further cooperation through the posting of 50 recruiting-“Dress Parade” one-sheets. The parade was both dignified and commanding. One hundred cadets from St. John’s Military Academy with their 42 piece band headed the procession. Accompanying the cadets were General Charles King and Col. Ferrand and Major Smvthe from St. John’s. The officers rode in Reo “Flying Cloud” car through a tie-up arrangement with the auto concern, this car being used in “Dress Parade.” Theatre ushers in uniform carried banners 10 feet long by three feet, reading “ ‘Dress Parade’ Party Wisconsin News-Palace-Orpheum.” The marchers started from the railroad station and stopped at the offices of the News, the band serenaded the paper and then they dispersed for lunch. The afternoon parade was from the News building down the main street for eight blocks to the theatre. The Shore Theatre’s Opening Dedication We now dedicate the Shore theatre to you, our neighbors, for whom it was builded. Welcome! It is not for us to tell you whether it is beautiful, but for you to tell yourselves. It is not for us to say whether the engineers, architects, upholsterers and decorators have done their work well or ill. You, our neighbors, and only you, will be the final judges of that. We submit — we do not proclaim. If there are evidences of good taste, of unostentatious comfort, in these new surroundings, it is because your taste and comfort were our first considerations. Behind this array of stone, metal and fabric there was, as we built, always the thought of you, our neighbors, and, we hope, our friends. With much modesty — and with a little pride — we dedicate to you this interpretation of your amusement needs, with the hope that it may not be unworthy. The Management. This Stunt Increased Patronage of Doctors When Dudley Scott of the Royal theatre, Le Mars, Iowa, played “The Country Doctor,” a Pathe-DeMille picture, he he hit upon an idea that has since increased his patronage among physicians. He tells how he did it in his own words: “While recently showing the ‘Country Doctor,’ I extended a written invitation to every physician in the county, numbering around 40. While composing the letter, a thought struck me which seemed practicable and possibly a chance to do me some good. I added as a footnote that as usual: Those doctors expecting to be called should merely register at the box office on their way in and we would see that they were called promptly, without undue confusion and no publicity to themselves. This seemed to strike them right and since that night I have had a number attend who did not do so before, and they usually stop on the way in to let the ticket seller know where they may be found. “Another stunt which may gain the friendship of the parents is to forbid the attendance of any child under 12 during the second week after the first show.”