Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1940)

April 6, 1940 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 55 MANAGERS* ROUND TABLE <tAn international association of shozvmen meeting weekly in MOTION PICTURE HERALD for mutual aid and progress A-MIKE VOSEL, Chairman and Editor GERTRUDE MERRIAM, Associate Editor OP Wherein Chairman Goes aVisiting It's good to get out. Man sits in one spot too long, seat grows to chair. (Confucius, eh?) There's a lot to say about meeting up with the members on their home grounds. An interesting lot, these Round Tabiers. On and off the record, they have plenty to offer. Listening to what the boys had to say filled us a couple of notebooks in the month away from the old nest. * * * One day, at the Brown Derby with a crowd of the members, the talk veered around to "eyewash" in exploitation. You know, the stuff the boys claim is put together to impress the bossman without especially helping the boxoffice. Funny thing about it was what one man termed "eyewash" might be rated helpful by another. It all depended. We opined the expression was overworked, a lot of better-than-average stuff thoughtlessly labeled "eyewash" which deserved better rating. While many ideas in use might not be startlingly effective, they were good enough to keep the theatre and attraction in the public eye. That's something. The lad who sits back waiting for a smash tiein has a lot of time on his hands. Where the bigshell selling slant was absent, we thought it better to shoot small ammunition than to mark time doing nothing at all. * * * At the United Artists, in Los Angeles, it was Tom Soriero who offered the opinion that football pictures should not be released in football season. The pigskin epics were nothing less than trailers for local games, Tom said. In excepting newsreel shots of current contests, the Round Tabler* vouchsafed that grosses on football pictures would be better if they were released during some other season of the year. * * * Floral displays are seasonally a conspicuous part of lobby decoration in most sectors. What with the mild climate in San Francisco, theatremen there go for elaborate showings as a permanent addition to theatre decoration. The customers make much of it, to judge from admiring throngs around the different floral arrangements in the spots visited. The lobbies sure looked attractive. * * * In San Francisco, as well as Los Angeles, hoss racing is blamed for denting matinee business. It appears that the women now spend their afternoons at the track, betting the long shots on the nose. Now, if the theatres could only take bets . . . * * * What with the job being done by the Dallas Variety Club in soliciting attendance from among managers to the threeday national convention, starting April 18th, the status of the theatreman in industry activities is to be pegged guite a few notches higher. Personal invitations over the signature of R. J. O'Donnell, Interstate Circuit general manager, have gone out countrywide. From plans divulged to your Chairman while in Dallas, the gathering shapes up as one to be long remembered. The party promises to approximate the nearest thing yet to a managers' convention. There is the further inducement of an opportunity to meet exhibition and distribution leaders, in addition to a flock of top stars and directors, slated to be on hand. Quite a few of the Round Tabiers have indicated they will be there. We look forward to meeting them. * * * From now on, this writer's idea of pure pleasure is a duplication of the three-hour showmanship "bull session" arranged in Oklahoma City by Standard Theatres. The discussion, led by headman W. B. Shuttee, and vigorously followed through by publicity chief, Pat Patchen, plus the complete roster of the circuit's managers, made up an inspirational afternoon for all of us. Everyone learned something from everyone else. It was that kind of a party. Deep bows of appreciation are here in order to all of the theatremen who made us to home in the different stops. Our especial thanks go to Dean Hyskell and Bill Hendricks, in Los Angeles; Lou Christ, in Phoenix; Louis Charninsky, Paul and Besa Short, in Dallas; Pat Patchen, in Oklahoma City; Alex Manta, Jack Rose, John Burhorn, in Chicago, and Dinny Dinerman, in Cincinnati. "Hasta la vista."