Inside facts of stage and screen (February 14, 1931)

Pa ere Six INSIDE FACTS OF STAGE AND SCREEN Saturday, February 14, 1931 S<3U*<g<3& One Year - Published Every Saturday $4.00 Foreign $5.00 Advertising Rates on Application Established 1924 As a weekly publication: Entered as Second Class Matter, April 29, 1927, at the Post Office at Los Angeles. California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Published by INSIDE FACTS PUBLISHING CO. 230 Bank of Hollywood Building, Hollywood, Calif. Telephone HEmpstead 8797 Downtown Office: 809 Warner Bros. Downtown Theatre Building JACK JOSEPHS - ALAN EDWARDS - President and Editor Secretary and Business Manager VoL XIII Saturday, February 14, 1931 No. 6 There is a move on foot to slash admission prices to mo- tion picture theatres. It is a most wise move. Sixty-five cents today—and it is usually $1.30 for a pair of seats—is about twice as much, comparatively speaking, as was the same amount a couple of years ago. Contemplation before spending the sum is also about twice as much these days as it was a couple of years ago. The movies won to their present popularity because they became known as the people’s entertainment. Opera, high price stage shows, concerts and dance recitals weer long re- garded as visual or oral food for the highbrows. Came the movies, with galloping cow ponies, hot passion, slapstick, and the other familiar attributes of the flickers, and the people took the new industry to its heart. But the popular adulation went to the heads of the pro- ducers and exhibitors. They felt that uniformed and splen- diferously be-clad doormen and ushers, Moorish palaces of luxuriance, the ultra-ultra in decoration and other entirely unnecessary auxiliary features were essential to the proper presentation of a picture. But now a crisis is upon the pocketbooks of these people who put the movies over the top as the fourth largest indus- try. They have become unable to pay for the surrounding luxuries of modern picture presentation at present. prices. Which makes a sort of trap of their own setting in which the movie magnates have become caught. They can’t slash away the luxuries and they’re doing themselves great injury by holding up the profits. There is but one answer, and that one answer must be fairly given if the movies are to hold popularity. A cut in the profits should be taken, the luxuries retained, and the price cut. The sooner the better. George A. Hickey, supervisor of sales for the Pacific Coast for M-G-M, and Mrs. Hickey returned from a Honolulu trip last week. As soon as this busy gentleman gets his office affairs arranged he will leave again for another trip. This time it's business, He’s going over the circuit. 5*1 j}c * Universal exchange managers of the western division will hold a meeting in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel on Monday. Phil Reisman, general manager; Harry Lorch, Western sales manager, and W. J. Heineman, assistant ditto, will preside. Reisman and Lorch hail from New York. The following exchange managers will be present: George Naylor, Los Angeles; Kenneth Hodkinson, San Francisco; Harry Fields, Port- land; G. E. Rosenwald, Seattle; W. K. Millar, Butte; J. Abrose, Salt Lake, and C. J. Feldman, Denver. ^ ^ ^ Following the meeting Phil Reis- man will come to L. A. for a conference with Laemmle, and Lorch and Heinemann will make a swing around the country. This is Harry Lorch’s first visit to L. A. in his present capacity. * * * Harold Whitman and Arthur Kallen, the seers at Universal exchange, were right. The L. A. office replaced New York and is now leading in the Jubilee Con- test. * * * W. T. Wall, Fox salesman, has recovered from his illness and is very much on the job again. He’s off on an Arizona trip and will be gone until the first of March. :|c The new Richard Talmadge pic- tures that Jules Bernstein is mak- ing are to be released through Co-Operative. The same ' exchange will release the Meglin series of two-reeiers called Hollywood Sun- teist Kiddies. * * * Exchange Manager N. P. Ja- cobs-and Salesman Fred Wagner are still holding forth in Arizona for RKO. Norman Newman and Morrie Jacobs are just too busy for words around the exchange. * * * Gradwell Sears, Western divi- sion sales manager of Warner Brothers-First National, left L. A. for Salt Lake and points east. * * * C. J. Alden, exhibitor of Ari- S. L Cross Music Corporation GENE McCORMICK, Prof. Mgr. presents A Quartet of Hits THE CHEER UP, PEP UP, HAPPINESS HIT OF 1931 ''3kA /jS S-ffi Fox Trot, by Powell, Jonson and V i-iv 3 mD%WMy H TT ™ ■ Evans. Recitation by Ray Parker THAT HOT RIOT OF RHYTHM AND MELODY It's Cone (That Wonderful feeling) FOX TROT BY ELMER KEETON JESSE STAFFORD’S FEATURE NUMBER. A GORGEOUS MELODY TONIGHT FOX TROT, BY STAFFORD, ROSE AND FRANKLIN THE CROONING WALTZ HIT, NOW SWEEPING THE EAST ROCii-A-BYE TO SLEEP IN E)IXIE BY SYLVESTER L. CROSS Expert Exploitation By JAY PERRY SILVEY San Francisco Office, Inside Facts Week by week the money-making ideas of live-wire managers and publicity directors will be recorded for your benefit. To do this your co-operation is necessary. An idea that worked to your benefit will probably aid another, and, in turn, his ideas may be to your advantage. Towns both large and small often have seemingly im- possible advertising problems to face, and it is the intention of this department to aid to the fullest extent of its ability. Mail in your troubles as well as your ideas. Do not make the mistake of using the same ideas over and over again, and then wondering why the public reaction is dulled. Put a value on-the various stunts in the amount of attention they attract. After all, that is, the dollars-and- cents thought behind exploitation. Try for originality, which does not mean that it must be an entirely new stunt, but put enough varia- tion in a gag to give it a new aspect. Much can be done with little expense if the gray matter is exercised properly. Well Sold Emil Umann, p. a. of the San Francisco RKO Orpheum, can give an impersonation of a man well pleased with himself follow- ing the opening of “Cimarron.” For this attraction is breaking all house records and no little part of it is due to the excellent campaign that Umann staged. It is, a per- fect example of a well-planned and well-executed selling drive. Using plenty of billboard space with both stands and sixes, on the air on three different radio sta- tions, and some fine newspaper ads, he had a perfect base. He effected a permit from the city and strung gaudy banners across the streets, tieing them to the trolley guy-wires, all advertising his fea- ture. These were stretched a block either way from the theatre, and nnlv a blind man could avoid see- ing them. Had Booth The local auto show was in prog- ress at the municipal auditorium prior to the picture’s showing, so Umann promoted a booth there to sell tickets to the premiere, using zona, was the Row. in town and around ALL VOCAL SCORES AND SPECIAL MATERIAL BY HARRY A. POWELL, DEAN OF WESTERN ARRANGERS • IN PREPARATION • An ARCHIE BLEYE Arr. A LINDSAY McPHAIL Arr. FORGIVEN, Fox Trot ais«i tlie IBAEj''! 7 , fox Trot By MAURICE GUNSKY By BELFILS and POWELL S. E. CROSS MUSIC CORPORATION 508-510 KRESS BLDG., SAN FRANCISCO From Market Street to Broadway—Makmg History in the Popular Music Industry The Filmarte Theatre is under contract with All Star for 16 British International Talkies. The first, “Two Worlds,” opens next week, to be followed by “Flame of Love.” “Suspense,” a sequel picture to “Journey’s End,” “Hate Ship,” “Sleeping Partners” and “Loose Ends.” * * * “Polly,” Miss Pollack, in Lola Af’ams Ge"try’s office, is laid up with the flu. * * * The genial Jack Miller, presi- dent of the Exhibftosr’ Associa- tion of Chicago, is playing around L. A., dodging the cold weather of the Windy City. * * * Tickets for the Exhibitors’ and Exchangemen’s Benefit Perform- ance are going well. This is not only a tribute to the boys in the business, but to the show as well. No one buys anything unless he’s going to get very good returns for his money in these depression times, so it’s undoubtedly going to be a grand and glorious mid- night benefit. * * * Pathe had a meeting of West- ern division managers at the stu- dios discussing the policies of the new organization with Lee Mar- cus and Pat Scollard. Managers A1 O'Keefe of L. A., Mark Cory of S. F., F. H. But- ler of Denver, R. W. Drew of Salt Lake, C. L. Theuerkauf of Seattle, H. L. Percy of Portland and J. H. MacIntyre, Western di- vision manager, were present. * * * A1 O'Keefe reports that he found life in general and business in- particular on the up-and-up while on his Arizona trip for Pathe. * * * Eddie Ballantine. loathe man- ager of exchange operations, is in town from New York on busi- ness. * * * New Fox Theater steel work looms high on the Spokane sky- line. This town will welcome Fan- chon and Marco units with open arms.' one of his regular cashiers and plenty of flash posters. Which didn’t do a bit of harm. Plenty of Klieg lights and a couple of big sun-ray arcs in front at nite gave the added flash to the house that drew the crowds from near and far. A street bally-hoo of the old- time ox-cart perambulating the streets properly bannered might have helped the advertising, but it couldn’t have helped the business, as j r ou can’t play beyond capacity. Tintype Hook-up Arvid Erickson of the San Fran- cisco Golden Gate tied a local pho- tographer into a neat little stunt for the showing of the vaudeville act of York and King in an “Old-P'ashioned Tintype.” The photographer offered a series of prizes to the best old-time family tintypes submitted to him and took a flock of display space in the newspapers to advertise same. Of which the theatre got its share. The family albums for miles around were ransacked by would- be contestants and a great time was had by all. Here is an exam- ple of good exploitation at no cost. This stunt will work well on pic- tures of “The Floradora Girl” type. Throw-a-way A decided novelty in a throw-a- way can be inexpensively made by following the construction of a regular statement. Obtain a reg- ular statement form approximate- ly 9x5 inches. Have the regular form copied and run off by your printer in block type in black ink. Then the selling copy set up in typewriter type and run in a light blue. The completed job giving the appearance of a regular first-, of-the-month billing. The finished gag should read in this vein: BOX To Mr. and Mrs. Show Goer Dr. BLANK THEATRE Cr. 4th at Main St. Cormnpcing February 14, 1931 1 Evening’s Entertainment Joe Brown and Winnie Lightner in the happy, hilarious howl, “Sit Tight.” Account may be paid by purchase of one or more tickets at the box office. OLLIE WALLACE Artist at Organ Entertainer on Mike PARAMOUNT PORTLAND Great care should be exercised on the distribution of this sort of gag in order to obtain the best re- sults. Hotels, apartment houses, cafes and cigar stands being the best bets. Institutional Ads William B. Wagnon, operating the Davies Theatre, San Francisco, makes use of an eight-page folder devoted to the beauties of this house, profusely illustrated with photographs and descriptively written. To insure the patrons re- taining the book, each one is num- bered and a scrip book awarded weekly to a back number. He also encloses a folder of advance at- tractions in each book. This the- atre has in the past been more or less a drop-in house, but this gag is helping to establish a- more steady trade. Paul Spier, at the Paramount, San Francisco, pulled a nifty on the opening of “Morocco” at that newly renovated house. After a lot of good conscientious work, he tied the Pig ’n’ Whistle up with a window display made entirely of candy. It was a replica of a scene from the picture, a desert oasis, with palms and all sorts of desert atmosphere. Naturally the novel- ty of it drew the crowds and there was always standing room only in front of the window. The plug for the picture and the theatre was well brought out and sold by this medium. This sort of thing is good stuff and Spier is to be commended highly for the idea as well as for its attractive layout. This is a case where both parties benefit to the fullest extent, and is the thought to be kept in mind in all tie-ups of this nature. On “Reducing” Jack Ryan, Fox manager at Val- lejo, worked hard on his “Reduc- ing” campaign and put the show- ing over with a great box-office bang. One of his best stunts was his newspaper tie-ups. In fact, it was so good that various people have accused him of buying a half interest in the local publications.