Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1936)

IIIIIITOIA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIMIIK IS THIS YOUR THEATRE? THEN COOL WITH ROTO-BEAMS When q great theatre chain like R. K. O. uses Roto-Beams, there MUST be a good reason. To assure good summer box office receipts your patrons must have comfort — there must be a constant flow of cooling, revitalized air. There must be no prohibitive costs to eat your profits. That is why R. K. O. has installed Roto-Beams. • Roto-Beam eliminates noise and drafts. Heat is expelled as new air is drawn in— gentle air movements from ceiling to floor, from wall to wall, keep your audiences refreshed. Let us demonstrate the efficiency of AIR BEAM CIRCULATOR CO. 512 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK ROTO BEAM CORPORATION 3300 INDIANA AVENUE. CHICAGO The EASY METHOD LEDGER SYSTEM (2 books, each for 2 years) keeps daily and weekly records of your receipts and expenses with carry-over columns. Price complete, S6.50. Cash with order or sent C.O.D. (A 2-year record for less than 2c per day.) The Federal Income Tax pages alone worth many times the price. Special prices in quantity lots. EASY METHOD LEDGER SYSTEM SEYMOUR, INDIANA We manufacture a most complete line of modern opera chairs and all accessories, combining excellent materials with the finest of workmanship, at low prices. GENERAL SEATING COMPANY CHICAGO front should have punch, vim, vigor and life, and this can only be accomplished with color and motion. I believe that most theatre operators who have tried using neon borders have gone back to the lamps. I think the neon is very effective for the trim and setting, and also for the name of the theatre, but the border and striplight should be in lamps. The letters in the changeable copy should also be modern in design and construction. They should be mounted to insure no sagging, nor rattle and no rusting, and should be of a finish that would either be permanent or easily renewed. The light in back of these letters should be just right. Too much light causes a glare and an halation that makes the copy hard to read and throws it together at a short distance away. Too little light, of course, gives you a dead appearance and an unreadable message. One very valuable factor to accomplish this with a low current consumption is porcelain reflectors in back of the changeable copy. One of the greatest difficulties in the past has been that a painted reflector would, within a short space of time (three to six months) become faded and dirty, and the part of the finish that could not be successfully cleaned would get dirtier and dirtier as time went on, and after a year or two the operator might get excited and put a coat of paint on these reflector spaces, but more frequently it will be three or four years before he will do so. I have seen them so dirty that you could scrape the dirt off them a quarter of an inch thick. Also, I have seen the lamps encrusted with dirt. Actually the theatre operator is then only getting about 10% efficiency out of the current consumed and his front presents a dirty, smudgy appearance that is a disgrace to everyone. With the porcelain reflector, a damp cloth will remove all the dirt in a few moments time, then the reflection is brought back to 100% efficiency. There can be a great saving in current as well as a more equal distribution of light and the complete elimination of repainting by the use of this porcelain enamel reflector. However, if a porcelain reflector is impossible or impractical to obtain, then let me urge you to keep your reflecting surfaces as clean as possible and repainted at flash and action. There was a trend several years back to use very conservative colors on theatre fronts. For instance, a great deal of plain black and silver ; however, I think the trend is unquestionably away from this to color, least once a year. In conclusion, let me say that the heart and soul of your business is showmanship, as you well know, and certainly the place where your showmanship can most profitably come in contact with the public is not inside your house, but outside. After you have them in, you naturally have to deliver the goods. But the showmanship should get them and the marquee does that. [ The author is vice president of the Artkraft Sign Company, Lima, Ohio. — The Editor.] RUSSIALOID REG. TRADE-MARK Artificial Leather for Seating Modern theatre designers and owners are specifying RUSSIALOID because it is smarter looking and wears better. RUSSIALOID insures long and satisfactory service. Cleans easily. It comes in many fast colors and varied patterns. Write us for samples. THE PANTASOTE COMPANY, INC. 250 PARK AVENUE, at 46th Street, NEW YORK 24 Better Theatres