Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

(lAu international association of showmen meeting weekly in MOTION PICTURE HERALD for mutual aid and progress CHESTER FRIEDMAN, Editor GERTRUDE MERRIAM, Associate Editor Revival Our recent editorial on the infrequency with which managers have been Indulging in outdoor ballyhoos has had immediate response from the men in the field. A portion of this response reiterates what we .stated: that gasoline shortage and the inability to recruit workers for this type of ballyhoo employment were the principal causes. On the other hand, we have received photographs from other members who are more inclined to action. For the next edition we are readying a page of these novel promotions, each idea being readily adaptable to current releases. Particularly impressive was a device employed by J. H. Eshelman, manager of the Paramount theatre in St. Paul, Minn., to exploit his date on "Meet Me in St. Louis". Mr. Eshelman engaged two talented youngsters, dressed in appropriate period costumes, to ride on the city's shuttle trolley line serenading riders with tunes from the picture. The Pioneer Press found the idea stimulating and refreshing and ordered a photographer to the scene. A story which appeared with the photo recommended that readers take a trolley ride on that particular line, while the theatre benefited by mention and through generous plaudits for the film and the idea. AAA How About You? About two months ago, when the cigarette shortage first became acute, the Round Table published a photo which one of the miembers submitted, showing a counter card in one of the local stores which he had planted. The caption on the card read: "Sorry, No Cigarettes — but we recommend that you see 'Since You Went Away' at the local theatre". Since that time we have received more than a score of contributions from members who thought the device was so good that they used it themselves. A majority of these contributors acknowledged the source of the idea, which affirms the general purpose of the Round Table as an exchange medium. The manager who thinks up some new stunt or polishes up an old gag to help exploit his attractions should not keep it to himself. He has a personal and moral obligation to pass the idea along for other theatremen, especially if he has taken their Ideas from these pages. The Round Table has thrived during the past 16 years because the membership has exemplified the give-and-take spirit of fair exchange. If we who are engaged in the administrative affairs of the Round Table permitted ourselves to become satisfied with the amount of correspondence we receive each week, we would feel as guilty as the manager who becomes complacent because business is satisfactory and considers his effort at the saturation point. For that reason, we feel compelled to periodically remind the reader that we should be hearing from him more regularly. AAA Premium on Courtesy Louis Sobel, whose syndicated column appears in the New York Journal-American, has made a number of caustic remarks of late concerning a not uncommon complaint these days, namely, the discourteous demeanor of the public in general and those attendant upon the needs of the public in particular. Mr. Sobel takes Into account current moods and temperament, the overcrowded stores, restaurants and amusement places, and the overtaxed facilities of the respective establishments and personnel. Rightfully, he concludes that occasional thoughtlessness Is rapidly giving way to downright impudence and rudeness. He believes the condition might become chronic. Acting upon Mr. Sobel's cue, the Journal-American sent e reporter around to try to find some courteous persons who were to be rewarded with dollar bills and the thrill of seeing their name: in print. The reporter evidently ran into the same difficulty a: Diogenes who searched for an honest man — ^to wit, the project wa:' shortly abandoned. Nevertheless, the plan might be useful to some theatre manage who can sell his newspaper editor on the idea of sending a reporte around looking for courteous townspeople, then rewarding then with a pass to the theatre. Maybe New York was not the place to try it, anyway. AAA And He Loves It . . . So me Indication of the effect extracurricular duties in connectic with the war effort have on the theatre manager can be found this paragraph from a recent letter to the Round Table: "You say you haven't heard from me in some time, and that right. I sometimes don't hear from myself for a few days ar frequently meet me getting up as I come in at night. Things a nuts . . . it's a 24-hour grind most of the time." —CHESTER FRIEDMA MOTION PICTURE HERALD, FEBRUARY 24, 1945