The Exhibitor (1966)

October 19, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR IX-795 LOST AND FOUND Probably, no day goes by without a theatre patron reporting the loss of something. A Lost and Found service set-up is an aspect of theatre operation which — like the department store’s Complaint Department — is both necessary and undesired. Don’t make it seem like an inconvenience; the patron who has mislaid something, and comes to you for assistance in retrieving it, can he plenty grateful for your whole-hearted cooperation. An immediate effort should he made to locate the missing object if the report of loss is made while the patron still is in the theatre, or even if such report is phoned in by an anxious parent when her child arrives home minus a scarf or other article of clothing. With the least possible disturbance to present patrons, an usher should check the floor and seats in the vicinity indicated by the patron who has reported a lost object; if the patron is unable to pinpoint the location, a wider search might be made during a show break, or during the screening of a trailer or of picture credits . . . NOT, during the most exciting part of a film. Whoever on the staff is responsible for your lost-and-found operation should ask patron to fill out a card giving full description of the lost object, and his own name, address and phone number. If the article is found or turned in, a letter or phone call to the patron asks him to come in, at his own convenience, to identify and claim the lost object. A certain amount of showmanship may be employed here. The names and addresses of patrons turning in lost articles of reasonable value — spectacles, clothing, etc. — might also be taken, with the statement that if the article is not claimed within a reasonable period of time, it will be turned over to a charity organization of their choice, in their name. As to the patron who reports a lost article, if it has not been found within two or three days, it can reasonably be assumed that it will not be; a letter of regret should be sent to the patron. Found articles which may not have been claimed, and which have no self-identifying markings that permit the theatre to return them even without patron report of loss, should be kept safely locked away somewhere, and held for a month or two. They then can be turned over to charitable organizations, sometimes with publicity. — Reprinted from Theatre Management Digest of the National Association of Theatre Owners, Inc. Herb Kaplan, general manager. Bay Harbor, Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., recently proved that old soldiers never die — they become involved in the exploitation of such pictures as United Artists' "What Did You Do In The War Daddy?". The beard. World War One Uniform, and old rifle proved a stopper as the aide went from hotel to hotel giving out circulars. He also visited the amusement editor of the Miami Herald and received quite a bit of space in his column; and attracted much attention as he marched in front of the theatre. Newspaper Tie-in On “Paris” A unique national newspaper merchandising campaign has been developed for Paramount’s “Is Paris Burning?” that will be selling the roadshow presentation on the local level in conjunction with individual playdates. The Benjamin Company, the national news¬ paper book service organization, is offering major newspapers in cities across the country the exclusive 12-part serialization rights to “Is Paris Burning?” with the franchise offer being timed to the film’s local premiere. Each of the 12 parts is introduced with the I fact that the film is on its way to the particu¬ lar city, with full playdate information in¬ cluded. Also tied-in is the film version of the paperback which is offered for sale via a coupon which runs at the end of each seg¬ ment of the serialization. The Benjamin Company is also supplying newspapers who run the serialization with a complete set of fully-captioned stills from the motion picture as illustration art for the indi¬ vidual segments. The unusual newspaper tie-in includes op¬ portunities for a full range of film paperbackserialization-music cooperative advertising. Fox Films Plugged Vogue Children Magazine, in its Fall issue, eagerly anticipates two 20th Century-Fox at¬ tractions — Arthur P. Jacobs’ “Doctor Dolittle” and “Smoky.” The publication states that “Two twentiethcentury young-people’s classics are being made into movies, both by 20th Century-Fox. It was 20th Century-Fox that gave us ‘The Sound of Music,’ and that makes us hopeful for the cinematizations of Will James’ ‘Smoky’ and Hugh J. Lofting’s ‘Doctor Dolittle.’ ” “For over forty years,” the article continues, “Smoky, fierce, black, wild, untrammeled leader of a lolliping band of untamed horses, has enchanted readers. We’ve wept and laughed and hung suspensefully as Smoky eludes capture by the wily Rocking R Ranch wranglers, ultimately trusting only in lone rider Clint. High romance on the range, all this, and it’s sure to make the Western of the year.” Discussing “Doctor Dolittle,” Vogue Chil¬ dren says. “It may not be greater than the book, but it promises to be as good — and if that’s true, we should all be dancing in the streets.” Dali’s “Fantastic Voyage” The artistic preparation made for the unique film adventure, 20th Fox’s. “Fantastic Voyage,” was the source of inspiration for the Salvador Dali painting now on exhibition at New York’s Hammer Gallery, 51 East 57th Street. Absorbed by the film’s startling premise — a voyage through the circulatory system of the human body by five persons reduced to micro¬ scopic dimensions — the world-renowned artist used the “Fantastic Voyage” set designs, a bizarre collection of props (ranging from a tor¬ rent of falling popcorn to a life-size plastic baseball player) and the modeling services of the film’s new star, Raquel Welch. The result¬ ing work is a collage of forms, both starkly real and oblique in the Dali style now familiar to museums around the world. Photographs by Philippe Halsman of the artist at work are also on view. This Salvador Dali painting on exhibition at New York's Hammer Gallery was inspired by 20th Cen¬ tury-Fox's "Fantastic Voyage." Photographs by Philippe Halsman of the artist at work were also on view. Presley’s Anniversary In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s motion picture career, MGM is staging a massive promotion campaign for his 22nd film, “Spinout.” Presley, one of the in¬ dustry’s all-time boxoffice giants, will be seen in the Joe Pasternak production next month, exactly 10 years from the date his first motion picture was released in November, 1956. MGM is gearing its entire advertising, public¬ ity and exploitation campaign to emphasize this fact. Exhibitors throughout the country will re¬ ceive an elaborate “Spinout” kit, distributed by MGM and RCA Victor, Presley’s record company. The kit offers a wide range of pro¬ motional material available for tie-ins between theatres and record/music stores. Contained in the kit are; sets of three different Presley portraits; posters advertising the “Spinout” single and RCA Victor soundtrack album; “Spinout” flyers; three different tabloid her¬ alds prepared by MGM and RCA Victor call¬ ing attention to the 10th anniversary; RCA booklets announcing Elvis’ Gold Car on tour and complete roundup of his record career, and a 20-page MGM Anniversary Story on Presley suitable for local publication. More than 5,000 major radio stations throughout the country will also receive a copy of Presley’s new single, “Spinout,” with jacket advertising carrying full movie credit. In addi¬ tion, MGM has prepared two special display items for the film, a Hi-Rise 40 by 60 standee and a Da-Glo Title Display. Open-end inter¬ views with “Spinout” co-stars Shelley Fabares, Deborah Walley and Diane McBain and direc¬ tor Norman Taurog with Hollywood com¬ mentator Dick Strout are also available for local radio programming. Teaser, theatre and television trailers have also been produced.