Fox West Coast Theaters Now (May 14, 1930)

NOW "Minister Warmly Approves Action of Theatre Men • Who Made Possible the Success Of Holy Week Services § As A Result of keen fore- sight and action on the part of \V. C. Mitchell, manager of the Campus Theatre, Berke- ley, Calfrorma', Fox West COAST prestige is greater than ever. Simply by offering the Berke- ley Fellowship of Churches use of the CAMPUS in which to hold special noon-hour Holy Week services won the com- plete admiration not only of the participating clergymen, but public and press as well. Letters from four pastors, Rev. Oswald McCall, First Congre- gational Church; Earnest A. Trabert, St. Michael’s Lutheran Church; Lincley H. Miller, St. Clement’s Church and Jacob Trapp, First Unitarian Church, all highly commend Mitchell. Probably the finest apprecia- tion was the conclusion of the sermon of Rev. E. W. Blak- man on Good Friday. The minister said; “In conclusion my friends, I want to take this opportunity to extend our deepest appreciation to Mr. Mitchell, the manager of this theatre, for his hearty cooperation in donat- ing this beautiful theatre for our Holy Week services. “It is much too often that we neglect to observe and appreciate the TICKERS SET IN A LOBBY ATTRACT Heralds in Financial Street Help Too • A Strikingly appropriate bit of ballyhoo was worked by Ray Deusern, manager of Loew’s State Theatre, Los Angeles, during the run of Caught Short. Arrangements were made with the Western Union Telegraph Company, who supplied two high speed stock tickers for the lobbies. Instead of the usual stock re- ports coming over the wire, the automatic machines continually ticked off—“Your admission tickets buy a million shares in laugh stocks at Loew’s STATE. See and hear Polly Moran and Marie Dressier get rich quick on the stock market and then take a tumble with the crash in Caught Short, their first comedy talkie. It's a howl of hilarity.” A neat little folder herald, labelled “How to make money B. C. and A. D.,” distributed in the financial district of Los Angeles also aided materially in boosting business during the week. real good that is being done for humanity, by the men whose life work is to make others happy. It is also gratifying to note that the man- power behind the theatre of today as compared to the manpower of the theatre of several years ago, consists of the finest type of manhood: “Particularly is this true with the managers of the BERKELEY FOX West Coast Theatres. We find these men behind every movement for the improvement and general better- ment of this community. “The executives of this wonderful organization are of the highest caliber in the land. We are fortunate indeed in having theatres in our city super- vised by such men as Harold B. Franklin and Mr. A. M. Bowles. “The church people of Berkeley can well give these theatres their hearty support. "Let us bow our heads in thanks for his blessing that has led us to the solution, in solving our problem of where we would hold our Holy Week services. Let us bow our heads in thanks, to these men who have made our Holy Week service possible.” Risky Stunt Is Big Booster $ Distribution of free tickets is usually pretty risky busi- ness. However, Bill Fairchild, manager of the Fox LINCOLN THEATRE, Cheyenne, Wyo- ming, worked out a scheme that redounded decidedly to his advantage. On the Saturday preceding the opening of Montana Moon, in cooperation with Servey Stores, he gave a special chil- dren’s matinee. Nearly 1800 youngsters jammed their way into his 1250 seat house. They saw a dandy show, had a won- derful time and as they passed out each one was handed a ticket which admitted him free, if accompanied by an adult, to see Montana Moon. The free tickets surely did the work. The kiddies came back enmasse, some of them bringing along three and four grown ups. The opening Sun- day was the biggest day the LINCOLN has enjoyed in weeks. The opposition house, present- ing an ace picture, played main- ly to empty seats. That the gag was efficient may be noted by the fact that Fairchild says business increased every day of the run. Marines Drill After Parade # A PARADE of thirty auto- mobiles carried the 307th Company, U. S. Marine Corps reserve to the RAYMOND THEA- TRE, Pasadena, California, which Dick Moss, the manager, arranged as a ballyhoo for Hit The Deck. The marines, one of Cali- fornia’s crack show organiza- tions, have won themselves a wonderful reputation for the expertness of their drilling and are in constant demand not only for public appearances, but they have featured in many motion pictures. In full dress uniform, they repeated their rapid-fire manual of arms and close order forma- tion drill on the stage of the RAYMOND between shows. As two of the company officers live in Pasadena, great popular in- terest was aroused by their ap- pearance. A packed house greeted the marines. •SEVERAL striking windows were landed by Lou Golden when he played “The Rogue Song” in Seattle. He even crashed a paint store window for a striking display with Laurel and Hardy who appear in that production. School Students Will Stage Own Elaborate Show To Convince Board That Special Courses Are Worthwhile • Planning an All High School Night just previous to the closing of schools for the summer vacation is one stunt that Tom Berta, manag- ing the Fox Rialto Thea- tre, Rocky Springs, Wyo- ming, figures will bring in a lot of additional business and win him much favorable pub- licity. Also he is showing the prop- er spirit by sending in his plans now before the event occurs. He is planning a show that will feature the local high school orchestra, soloists and mixed choruses from the Glee Club and dancers. More than seventy five pupils will participate. Berta is playing the game from two angles—the box of- fice and prestige contact. The school authorities are with him one hundred percent. To them it is a grand opportunity to show results attained by the music and dancing teachers. In Rocky Springs, as in many other small towns, it is always a battle to convince the school board of the necessity of em- ploying these special teachers. But in combining with Berta, the principal and teachers will have an opportunity to show both board and public money spent for such instructions is worth while. Already in the press, Berta is running his preliminary stories, building up interest in the night. He is pulling a smart trick by using the pupils as press agents. Each student is supplied with blank post cards on which he writes a message about the show to his friends. Operating from a strong foundation practically insures Berta a packed house. Not only that, but it furnishes him with invaluable contact with the schools for future events. Berta not only demonstrates a complete knowledge of pres- tige building. In two ways he is doing something different— permitting the schools to believe they are indebted to him—and sending in his plan of operation before the event occurs. There is still time before school closes.