Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

Standards of theatre housekeeping have been pushed upward by the very pressure of rising standards elsewherein motion picture exhibition. But it is not enough today that a theatre look clean. It must be clean — togiveassuranees of protection of public health that satisfg patrons and authorities, For there hus risen get another factor. What this means in theatre housekeeping is stated here By RAYMOND E. VAN CETSON who for more than fifteen years has been in charge of maintenance and construction for Balaban & Katz in Chicago. The Crowing Challenge of Health Education today a vitally interested and enlightened public is focusing the attention of your community on Public Health Standards. There is a constant, determined drive by all health agencies to crystallize into action the age old axiom, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." There can be no argument with the principles of such a program ; it is sound and should command the active support of all citizens. Such programs of public education are of first importance to the theatre owner and can react in either of two ways, depending upon the classification into which his theatre falls. Certainly, if an operator or owner insists upon a high standard of sanitary maintenance, health programs which -seek to destroy bigoted and biased misinformation concerning the contacting and spreading of infection and disease, can prove of great value in establishing his theatre as an example in modern, alert, preventive hygiene. By the same token, carelessness in this all important function of successful theatre operation may result not only in the loss of patronage, but also of the good will of the community. Theatre sanitation is not only a moral obligation — it is a sound business necessity. Whenever a contagion develops an epidemic status, in many instances suspicion is directed toward public meeting places. The exhibitor s defense is foresight and constant vigilance. When contagion strikes, the time for action has passed ! Education of the public and theatregoer through everyday exam ple, provides the perfect answer to careless criticism. Only when the exhibitor can point to his theatre as a clean — really clean — institution, may he hope to swing the weight of public opinion in his favor. Theatre rest rooms provide a perfect example of public "point of contact." Restrooms carry much traffic. They must be neat and clean in appearance. Naturally, the greater the attendance, the greater will be the need for giving them special attention. An ill-smelling, untidy room, stale with odors, Avill create an impression of careless treatment. If these rooms look bad, they establish a resentment in the mind of the patron. This, then, is the sales resistant to be destroyed by ceaseless supervision. Neglect in this feature of good housekeeping is inexcusable, for it may be on this "appearance" that a patron will form an opinion that may never be altered, regardless of subsequent "good impressions." REST ROOM CLEANING To be clean, a rest room must be sanitary. To be sanitary it must promote good health by actually being germ-free. Here again the battle can be won only by constant vigilance and the application of sound cleaning methods. Obnoxious odors cannot be destroyed by neutralizing them with still another odor ; the cause must be eradicated. There can be no substitute for soap and hot water, combined with an effective germicide applied with a thoroughness that attaches importance to every phase of the cleaning operation. Urinals, toilet bowls, flush boxes, wash basins, waste receptacles, floors, toilet partitions— in fact, every item of rest room equipment — must be subjected to the same careful cleaning treatment. Only when the manager or operator assumes the personal responsibility of supervising this work, instructing and following through with his staff, will he be assured of clean, germ-free, sanitary rest rooms. The underlying reasons for this are not difficult to understand. There are far easier and more agreeable tasks than cleaning rest rooms! A "once over lightly" job daily, with intermittent, thorough cleaning, will lighten the all-over task as well as provide freedom for other, less offensive tasks, but will not contribute to the important task of maintaining clean rest rooms. In scheduling your cleaning staff's time, guard against minimizing the time allowed for 'rest room cleaning; to underestimate the working period will be a contribution to a future unhealthy situation. A questionable operation in which management may indulge without thinking seriously of the consequences is the dubious practice of introducing insufficient fresh air to toilet rooms. Do not place too low a value on the effectiveness of fresh air as a sanitary aid — not to mention the feeling of freshness which the patron associates with an odor-free, non-irritating atmosphere. Use extreme care in the selection of germicides employed in cleaning. You do not want your theatre smelling like a hospital, but you do want it clean. There are avail(Contiuued on page 33) BETTER THEATRES, MARCH 8, 1947 13