The Exhibitor (1955)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 19 the last show to handle the boa constrictor in her hands and draped around her pretty self, and to answer all questions trom patrons. Next, we arranged for press representa¬ tives to be present and John Robinson and Walter Hardacher, Hamilton Spec¬ tator, and Roy Whitsed and Joe Yule. Hamilton Weekly Review, attended. They interviewed the owner of the snake, John Winter, Hamilton, and watched the girl do her act in the auditorium. I then fasttalked Robinson into doing an act with the snake for the benefit of a photog¬ rapher we conveniently had on hand. The results were a terrific story by Robinson in his daily column plus the photograph of himself with the snake at the head of the column. The others also wrote columns on the stunt. We secured a really weird recording, courtesy of radio station CKOC and rigged up a record player in the office with a loud speaker on the boxoffice roof and played this eerie music all day to pass¬ ers-by. This resulted in a bit of interest to our theatre front. For a week in ad¬ vance we bannered our front doors with the following copy: (1) All New Giant Thrill Show Starting Sunday Midnight. (2) Great 2 For 1 Shock Show Starting Sunday Midnight; and (3) “Giant Horror Show” Starting Sunday Midnight. In each case the bottom part, “Starting Sunday Midnight,” was cut off for current playdate. We featured a special lobby display regarding the Sunday midnight show. Total expenses were $5 for the snake girl; $3 for moving the snake cage; $5 for the record player, amplifier and speaker; and theatre passes for the owner of the snake. RUNNIR-^UP NUMBER 3 SELLING DISNErS TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURES Submitted by Frank Sparrow Riti, Winter Haven, Fla. 900 seats * 50 cents top admission General patronage. Feeling that the Walt Disney True Life Adventure series, if properly publicized, would bring in additional business on re¬ turn engagements, since they are very popular subjects and were, in most cases, used originally with the unpopular Disney features, I began to check around for ways of giving adequate publicity and hit upon a plan which resulted in very favorable publicity for the theatre, has solidified merchant-theatre cooperation, and brought in over $200 additional business each mid-week program. I arranged for the screening of a True Life Adventure each Wednesday at 12:10 (noon) and a booking of the same subject the following Tuesday and Wednesday. I arranged with Merchants Association members, who close Wednesday afternoon during the summer, to sponsor the special Wednesday screenings. Admission was by invitation only. The invitations were is¬ sued by the merchants to their Wednes¬ day morning customers. There was no charge to the merchant or their guests. The screening was used strictly as a Wednesday morning promotion for the merchants and advertised as such. For the theatre, however, the screening was used as a means of selling the theatre and the “magic of the movies” to the com¬ munity. An announcement was made at the screening that the same subject would be shown on our regular program the next Tuesday and Wednesday. We followed through with a postal card reminder to all who attended the screening, asking them to tell their friends and neighbors about the regular showing on Tuesday and Wednesday. The entire cost of the stunt is one-half hour booth and operator time plus power and cost of postal cards used as re¬ minders. This cost is easily off-set by concession sales. The reaction has been surprising from merchants, newspaper and public. We kept a pretty close check and I’m sure that more than half our patrons came to see the Disney short rather than the fea¬ ture. This seems to prove once again that word-of-mouth is the best form of ad¬ vertising. The merchants are talking movies and feel that we are giving them a $100 show for Wednesday promotion, and I’m sure will be receptive to theatre tieups and promotion in the future. The plan operated successfully for a six-week period, or until we ran out of True Life Adventure subjects. aUN/ ^ 4 BACK TO SCHOOL FREE MATINEE Submitted by Charles F. Wallace 4-Star, Scottville, Mich. 340 seats * 50 cents top admission General and rural patronage. This was started by selecting eight mer¬ chants who handle articles which would be bought during the pre-school season. We sold them a package deal which in¬ cluded a free show, consisting of an action feature and two cartoons, a half page co-op ad in our local daily, which ran two weeks prior to the matinee thus enabling the students and parents to determine how to obtain free tickets, and another full page co-op ad in our weekly paper, which came out the day before the matinee. The merchants gave a ticket for the matinee with the purchase of school sup¬ plies amounting to $1.00 or over and a prize to the theatre, which we, in turn, gave away at the matinee to the lucky ticket holder. Curtis Candy kicked in with plenty of all-day suckers for all the kids on their way out, and we added five boxes of salt water taffy to build up the drawing. The turn out was tremendous and the kids went for the idea with a bang. The merchants were well pleased and want to make it an annual event, which is okay with us as it created much interest and gave the theatre a nice profit and much good will. Dress Tieup Aids "Lucy'' Scranton, Pa. — With a maximum of effectiveness, manager John Gibbons, dur¬ ing his recent showing of “Lucy Gallant,” had a tiein with the Beverly Dress Shop, one of the city’s leading ladies’ shops, wherein on Saturday night a fashion show of name garments and identical frocks to those shown in the film was held on the stage of the Strand with several of the city’s prominent clubwomen serving as models. While $100.00-per-week will be awarded each and every week throughout the year by the SHOWMAN¬ SHIP SWEEPSTAKES editors, certain film distributors from time to time will post additional DISTRIBUTOR CASH PRIZES of $250.00 to $1,000.00, in order to focus attention on a particular picture. Such DISTRIBUTOR CASH PRIZES must be posted ‘or a perioo of 26 weekly issues, and if not won will be withdrawn. To qualify for a DISTRIBUTOR CASH PRIZE, a promotional stunt or campaign, in which the particular picture is the center of interest, must win a MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR $100.00 weekly prize. This will give it "a leg" on the larger prize. At the end of the 26-week period mould more than one entry have such "a leg" on the same DISTRIBU¬ TOR CASH PRIZE, they will be re-submitted to the circuit executive judges for special judging of the one best. This one best will then receive the entire DISTRIBUTOR CASH PRIZE; or, should a tie develop, it will be shared. DISTRIBUTOR CASH PRIZES NOW IN EFFECT . . . are as follows: PARAMOUNT PICTURES »500®® ot "WE'RE NO ANGELS" (This Prize Offer expires Jan. 11, 1956) REPUBLIC PICTURES CORP. *500®® °n "THE LAST COMMAND" (This Prize Offer expires Feb. 22, 1956) RKO RADIO PICTURES, INC. *500®® on ''The Treasure of Pancho Villa" (This Prize Offer expires April 11, 1956) November 2, 1955