The Exhibitor (1960)

An exclusive SHOWMANALYSIS Prepared by PAUL HANNER, Director of Advertising and Publicity Odeon Theatres (Canada) Limited, Toronto, Canada. ABOUT THE AUTHOR • Upon his discharge from the Armed Services in 1945, Paul Hanner entered show business with Granada Theatres in London, England, as an assistant manager. Following several years of theatre management, he joined Associated BritishPathe as a publicist. Hanner arrived in Can¬ ada in 1952, and after two years as a copy writer in department store advertising, he rose rapidly from assistant manager to adpub chief with Odeon Theatres, Canada's "showmanship" circuit. A married man with two young children, Hanner is active in both church and community affairs. Among his varying interests, he highly values his record collection of modern music. During the summer months he may be seen coaching his "pee-wee" softball team, and for the remainder of the year acts as M.C. for his Church Glee Club, both on radio and in person. When asked what he considered the most important facet in publicizing motion pictures, Hanner replied: "Without total mer¬ chandising at the theatre level, all the big national campaigns and special accessories go for nothing! Everything that's going for a picture has to be neatly and expertly tied up at the pointof-purchase . . . and that's your local theatre! Any manager who plays a picture and does nothing to help it is doing a gross disservice to his theatre, his industry, and last, but by no means least, to himself!" HANNER #46 of a regular every-wee k EDITORIAL FEATURE found only in this trade paper "How I Would Sell . . . MIDNIGHT LACE Taut with the interlacing of a marrow-freezing mystery, a perfect cast of stars, and the lush overtones and settings that surround its perfected melodrama, “MIDNIGHT LACE” is the year’s high point in terrorizing suspense. All these ingredients have to add up to Blockbusting Box-office Returns! Dorothy Kilgallen in her syndicated column is touting Doris Day as a hot contender for the 1961 Academy Awards. Rex Harrison is red-hot following his smash success in “My Fair Lady.’’ And John Gavin has a built-in appeal with teen¬ agers. Add Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall, and Herbert Marshall, and you’ve got a marquee full of talent. I am going to merchandise “MIDNIGHT LACE” now, exactly the same way as it will be handled for my circuit; we call it “TOTAL MERCHANDISING ”— a comprehensive coverage of every facet known to showmen. Supported with heavy press, radio and/or television, the following campaign is designed to produce the block-busting returns referred to above. SCREEN MERCHANDISING Commence using teaser trailer four weeks prior to playdate. Commence using regular trailer two weeks prior to playdate. Let’s make the most of this fine color trailer— and let’s make it dramatic, eh? 1. Dim house lights— open screen curtains. 2. Throw green spot on blank screen and hit with female scream over non-sync system. 3. Hit immediately with regular trailer. 4. Finish presentation with date leader (Starts Thurs¬ day, etc.) FABULOUS FASHIONS by top designer Irene find the perfect model in Doris Day, and this is sure to be one feature of the film that will have the women in the audience gasping and asking for more. U-Ts Lush Drama Of Taut Suspense From Ross Hunter October 26, I960 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 15