Inside facts of stage and screen (February 7, 1931)

INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN Saturday, February 7, 1931 Page Two George White On Trip To Los Angeles Activity Is Now At Lowest Point In Theatre Selling L EXHIBS HOLD i By JAY PERRY SILVEY San Francisco Office, Inside Facts Exploitation is a long misused word that oftime covers a multitude of sins in the name of advertising. Notwithstanding this, exploitation is often the additional factor in determining whether or not the ledger balances on the black or the red ink side, at the completion of a picture’s showing. The purpose of this department is to exchange ideas in this line of endeavor, and to proffer suggestions from time to time that might prove of merit in planning a campaign. To this purpose, Mr. Manager, let us hear from you. Your successful campaigns—your ideas—that may aid an- other. It should be remembered that most of these suggestions are equally useful to other plays of similar type, and are not limited to use with the title indicated. When you have a good idea, send it m. THEATRE SETS TOP PUCE ii LUXURY For beauty,, capacity, comfort and convenience the New Los An- geles Theatre, opened by the Gum- iiincr Brothers with the premiere of “City Lights” can easily rate as the Southland’s leader. The Gum- F'incr boys have spared neither money nor energy in the effort to give Los Angeles something new and distinctive in the way of an auditorium. They have succeeded beyond expectations. Everything in the way of service has been included in the architec- tural layout, from carpets of a depth to give one the feeling he is tread- ling on clouds, to a lunch room. The large oval rest room, sunk to a second level below the main foy- ■jer, is done in a French design that is unique. For design it was a wise ^choice in a plethora of Chinese and Oriental theatres. The layout of the seat plan is such that no matter what the ca- pacity of the pockctbook there is a seat to satisfy it. The new Los Angeles holds down a prize loca- tion. It is just a short distance North of the busiest corner in the -world, Seventh and Broadway. Its front is a blaze of welcome to the passerby. Location and manage- ment are two of the factors that -will make this new cinema palace one of the big money-makers of Los Angeles. Seating capactiy 2,400. Six seats to each row and no stepping on cornls. Children’s play room and a icrying room for those who won’t hush. The salon is Louis 14th and an art gallery for exhibk- A worn; " -”h—ccrsiweTir^roO'm, mini. . screens located iif Tfr& lobby and the salon that reflect with a series of projecting mirrors the picture on the screen. Also the sound effects. Neon illumination on the aisle. The entire auditorium bowls in a way that permit severy person in the audience a clear view without looking between heads. A $35,000 switchboard has been installed. The only one like it in the country is operating in Severance Hall, Cleve- land. S. Charles Lee was the ar- chitect responsible for this massive modern and artistic structure. He has set a pace for the next builder. A‘11 materials used in the building were California products. Ventila- tion features are novel. The air can be changed at any one of six locations without , effecting other parts of the theatre. All of the publicity for the opening was hand- led by the Sam Cohn Agency, jRoosevelt Hotel, Hollywood. CONTRACT CONTINUED Meeting of the Actor-Producer 'Contract Committee of the Acad- emy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was held February 2 to decide . whether the present Acad- emy Minimum Contract should be continued or optional “54-hour week” form should be adopted. It was decided by unanimous vote that the present contract will be continued for four years. How- ever, changes or modifications may he inserted by agreement of ap- propriate committees from the Foundation members of the Ac- tors Branch and the Producers (Branch. MISS WHITE MISSING Frances White decided to take a 'plane ride on her jump this week from Oakland to the local RKO Theatre. Wasn’t necessary as the Oak bill closed Tuesday and the local opening was Thursday. Re- sult of the stunt was that Miss White wasn’t here for the opening, and Balthazer Brothers and Bob and Monte were put in her spot. Roscoe Ates toplines the bill. BURTON STUCK UP Billy Burton was held up one day last week. His bankroll consisted of a package of Lpckys and 15 cents. The stickerup refused the 15 cents but- walked off with the. cig- arettes. There are many branches of ad- vertising that come under the one heading — exploitation, — the mosi natural of which is the tried and true window tie-ups. Very little in- genuity is required to get out a striking display at little or no cost to the theatre. In every feature pic- ture there are always several arti- cles used by one of the leads that are applicable and probably carried in stock by one or more merchants of your city. Ordinarily a star still can be used to best advantage with small card carrying the theatre mes- sage and an appropriate line ad- vertising the merchant’s product. But there are times when a more elaborate display, is. the wisest pol- icy, and an entire window can be, obtained without it being deemed a nuisance or an imposition by the merchant. Considering the fact that an effective window display will un- failingly stop the passers-by, this car be considered a sure-fire method of selling your theatre’s product. Easy Tie-Ups Package enclosures, if neatly done, will bring results, but a botched job is merely a waste of time and effort to all concerned. Groceries, drug stores, laundries and the like are the easiest obtain- able tie-ups. the gag being mere!* atl announcement of special offering by their firm for the week along with the theatre copy. The more striking and original the gag, .the more attention it will? receive, lix- stmpk - of this type of gag will be given from time, to threw - Your local 15-cent store will gen- erally allow you the privilege of im- printing the small paper bags used by them in return for the cost of the bags, which is usually quite nominal as they buy them in large quantities. This same thought is also applied to the paper napkins used at soda fountains and smaller restaurants. With the proper ap- proach, the better class cafes will allow the printing of a line or two advertising your attraction on then- daily menus. Street Ballyhoos By all means do not overlook the value of street ballyhoos. These may vary in size and idea from the sandwich man to the several blocks long street parade, but the same thought that applies to all manner of exploitation also applies here. Do it well or not at all. It must be an attention getter or the effort is wasted. An example of a real street ballyhoo was the whale used by the San Francisco Embassy during the showing of “Moby Dick.” This was a 25-foot lathe and cloth reproduc- tion, well painted, of a whale mounted on a light truck, with the theatre copy oyerpainted on the sides. An additional feature was lost on this, by not mounting a TO MAKE 24 Radio Pictures will produce 24 two-reel comedies during 1931. Chic Sale will be starred in six; Rosco Ates in six; and Ned Sparks in six. Louis Brock will supervise and Mark Sandrich will direct. LINING UP DATES Bobbie Meiklejohn is on a trip to Arizona to line up dates for a vaude road show. BOOKS ACTS Sid Schallman of the Bert Levey offices has booked Ward and Pinkie, and the Three Brown Buddies with Fanchon and Marco. NEW ORPH MANAGER Roy Reid, who for a long time was manager at the Strand, Long- Beach, and before that was man- ager for Jack Russell, is now man- ager at the Orpheum. William R. Nigh has been signed by Columbia to direct "Danger Ahead.” LvL-daiiJii small water pump of the fountain variety on the truck which would have enabled the whale to spout at ntervals. These few items are but a drop n the bucket in comparison to the possibilities that may be obtained by a wide-awake manager. Exploi- tation is more vital today than ever before, if for no other reason than it now requires more careful treat- ment. A Result Getter If you have used the fake tele- gram until you feel that your pa- trons no longer respond, try this stunt. Have forms printed of the type that hotels use to inform their guests of telephone calls received while the guest was out. Then have a cut made in longhand of the mes- sage you wish to convey and have this overprinted in fountain pen blue on the forms. Your com- pleted message should read some- thing like this—While you were out "Mr, Charles Chaplin” called “to tell you that liis new picture ‘‘City Lights,’ now playing at the Blank Theatre, is the funniest picture ever made,” This copy, of course, is written to meet requirements and the finished effort is that of a hand- written message on a regular form. These can he placed in the key- boxes' or 90 per cent of your city's hotels. Novelty Announcement Some time ago, Warner Bros, used a novelty announcement for their picture, 1 “Glorious Betsy,” which can well be used again at this time to a picture of similar type. It consisted of a folded job on a pink stock of the type used for birth announcements. On the front was a drawing of a stork car- rying a baby in its bill with the wording, “Announcing the Arrival of and on the inside "Glori- ous Betsy at the Blank Theatre.” along with the date and selling* copy. This was an excellent throw- a-way and received a great deal of attention as the recipient generally passed it along. The stork illustra- tion was also used as a newspaper teaser in advance of the regular campaign. Miniature Photos Phil Phillips keeps on proving his worth to the East Bay. Fox West Coast theatres by a scries, of original exploitation novelties in ad- dition to his regular work. On the recently completed "Blue Angel” campaign, lie had a series of small photos made up, approximately two by three inches each with suitable theatre copy overwritten on the face of the photo. One was a star still of Marlene Dietrich, and two of . the others were of the same star in more intimate poses. The star pictures were for the hoi polloi and the racy ones went tg the young masculine element. Part of the cost on this wis defrayed by a local photographer who placed his ad on the reverse side. The same gag worked for the kiddies with the showing of Tom Sawyer, using the photo of Mitzi Green, a sure-fire kiddies’ favorite. Phil also tied in with the Oak- land Post Enquirer on a Marlene Dietrich Limerick Contest in their columns with the theatre giving appropriate cash awards to success- ful contestants. “Reducing” Campaign Bob Gilmour and Herman Kers- ken collaborated on a mighty fine selling campaign for “Reducing” at the Fox San Francisco. And the worth of it was proven by the old B. O. receipts. They’ll do it every time. Among the high-lights was a double-truck ad in both the Ex- aminer and the Chronicle, 31 win- dow displays. 20,000 heralds dis- tributed by the Victor Record Com- pany through their dealers and, of course, an unusually good billboard and newspaper showing. One of the smartest gags was an ace of dia- monds, just playing card size, on the reverse side of which was the theatre copy with the heading, “We have an Ace in the Hole in ‘Re- ducing,’ ” et cetera. ill TIES 10 10 III TIGHT The theatre selling market is cur- rently at the lowest point of ac- tivity in years. There are fewer sales these days than the field has seen for a long time. First glance would seem to indi- cate that the nation-wide financial depression is responsible, but this is error. A checkup by Inside Facts made among exhibs brought forth a general feeling that show busi- ness for the neighborhood and small town houses is on the up-and-up. and that it is now a very poor time to sell. The lower price houses currently are doing very well, con- sidering the state of other business, and as the tight money market makes offers close to value plus, the wise plan, so the exhibs figure, is to hold right on to their living income and wait for a break when tlie money situation loosens up. Film Row By VI Howard McBride, Universal pub- licity man is in San Diego on one of his exploitation tours. District Manager Bill Hcineman lias drifted in from his latest cruise around the territory. Universal exchange is sporting a fresh coat of paint and a general air of busy prosperity. There’s something about newly decorated cream colored walls and slick brown woodwork after all. Local office is climbing up toward first place in the Laemmle Silver Jubilee contest and hope is high in their nook of the Row. Al O’Keefe is still in Arizona, so J. H. MacIntyre, division man- ager obligingly chatted about Pathe doings. The office is confining it- self to sales problems, working at full speed, and just feeling gener- ally good about the RKG-Pathe merger news. Pathe’s manager of exchange op- erations is in Los Angeles for a few' days, completing a swing of the country. Elmer Seden, home- office special representative is in L. A. on his regular inspection tour. A deal is being set up which will cover the playing of Pathe short subjects all over West Coast Theatre circuits. Still pending at the moment, the deal is on the verge of being completed. “Doc” Shaw has just returned from a trip to Imperial Valley for Educational. He had some trying situations to handle and managed them successfully. Mrs. Bogart is keeping happy, up to the neck in her massive • books. She says she doesn't know 'anything except what’s in her booking books, but she knew that one of the Burns Detective Series has been booked into the Carthay Circle Theatre for the run of “East Lynne.” Pathe has a short in there too for the same run. It's an Aesop Fable, "Little Red Riding Hood.” M. J. E. McCarthy of Columbia knows what’s going on in the great world outside of Film Row. He says he heard from Steve D. Brown that in spite of all the dole- ful depression talk, Brown’s theatre, the Strand at Oxnard, is doing ex- ceptionally good business. Lewis Kaplan and Sam Klein, formerly of Santa Barbara The- atres, Inc., are seen much and of- ten along the Row of late. Nobody is saying anything, but there’s something in the wind besides the rain, according to prominent prog- nosticators. Next Warner Brothers feature to go . day-and-date in Hollywood-L A. is one about which Harry Lus- tig waxes enthusiastic. It’s "Illicit” opening on the twentieth. Gradweli Sears, Western division sales manager of W. B.-F. N. is due from the home office in New REPORTED TO 0E OEEIliS 10 TO WRITE NEXT SHOW DeSylva, Brown and Henderson may write George Whitels next show-, according to a report in cir- culation this week. White is currently on a trip to the Coast, with no announcement as to the purpose of his visit. However, reports which seem to have a good foundation are in circulation to the effect that the main purpose White has in mind is to get the musical trio to give him the music and book for his next production. Brow'll and Henderson, two mem- bers of the firm, were with White at the fights at the Legion Stadium Friday night, and while nothing was. forthcoming as to the purpose oi the get-together, the incident made the reported prospective tie-up stronger than ever. ‘JITNEY HE si is pun (Continued from Page 1.) interested in pictures is back of the move. But they refuse to reveal the name as yet. They do say, however, that, should further survey of the field show as good prospective results as the survey to date has done,, they will rush through construc- tion of the houses at breakneck speed, an order ot get the full ad- vantage of the present financial de- pression and the current national habit of pen ny-shopping. AID BALLPLAYERS Harry English put on a benefit vaude bill Monday night for the Veteran Ball Players Association of America. Mike Donlin, former Big League star, Ed Smith and Harry Neely, feature sports writers of the Chicago American and Trib- une, were among the honor guests. The show of twelve acts was or- ganized to raise money for a home for cx-playcrs. OPENS BOOKING O'FFICE Ella Herbert Weston, who was booking for Ackerman and Harris for many years, is now- booking pn her own account. It is understood she is booking acts into the Hippo- drome in Sail Francisco and also in Ogden, Utah, and is lining up other dates around San Francisco. York early this coming week. He’s paying L. A. office one of his reg- ular quarterly business visits. Jack Slafer, U. A. district man- ager is resigning his place on the sick list. He will leave in a day or two to get back to the business of district-managing. Another one off the invalid line- up is William A. Calihan of M-G- M, who has been playing around with a cold for a couple of weeks. Off on a selling trip, J. J. Mil- stein is hovering between L. A. and San Diego for a few days for M-G-M. Fox exchange is missing W. T. Wall temporarily. The Arizona territory salesman is ill with the flu. Warner Brothers new house in San Pedro is doing a surprise busi- ness at 50 and 60 cent admissions in the face of strong competition. House manager was in the local exchange looking pleased and beaming. An Exhibitors’ and Exchange- men’s Benefit Performance is scheduled for midnight February 28. A studio preview of an unan- nounced feature will be shown. Fanchon and Marco super show and stage band are being donated by F. W. C. Many stars have promised to appear. It looks as though the ..Exhibitors’ and Ex- ehangemen’s fund will' bo well re- plenished as a result of the out- standing program planned.