Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

m ■ . . . j, zAn international association of showmen meeting weekly in MOTION PICTURE HERALD for mutual aid and progress CHESTER FRIEDMAN, Editor QP Have you ever tried cracking a wal^1 nut in the hollow of your elbow? There's a character in the new Bob Hope picture, "My Favorite Brunette," who does just that. This prompted Rube Wolf, managing director of the Paramount theatre in downtown Los Angeles, to set up a walnut display in the lobby, with an invitation to patrons to try their strength. Anyone cracking a walnut in the hollow of the elbow received a free admission. The promotion kept a crowd constantly gathering in the outer lobby of the theatre. Incidentally, the cost was practically nil. The Walnut Association of Southern California provided the nuts without charge, besides handling the distribution of several hundred display cards in grocery stores of metropolitan Los Angeles. CA firm believer in cooperative advertising, Norman W. Lofthus, manager of Warner Bros.' California theatre, Santa Barbara, Cal., recently marked the start of a third year of a highly profitable merchant tieup. Two years ago, Lofthus originated and sold a quarter hour radio program which he called "Hollywood Hilites." The program appeared once a month over KDB and after a few months the time was increased to a half hour. Highlight of the program is a participation contest in which the audience is invited to identify a musical number from an unidentified picture. The winner each week receives a month of free shows at the California, plus a dinner and dance evening at the Restaurante Del Paseo. A local jeweler sponsored the show for the first year and was followed by the current sponsor, Firestone's Ready to Wear Shop. In his years as a theatre manager, Lofthus has participated in a great many news paper and radio promotions but the one outstanding example of cooperation which he looks upon with pride is the tieup described above. £t Easter fashion shows have come and ^1 gone for another year with varying degrees of success. One of the most interesting was the style show staged at the Lindsey theatre, Lubbock, Tex. Assistant manager Pete Kempf reports that the tieup was arranged with Hemphill-Wells Company, a leading department store, and the Braniff Airways. The models were six Braniff airline hostesses, flown from Dallas for the occasion. The illusion the production gave was that of a plane landing at the local airport, with the hostesses disembarking and modeling the evening gowns, dresses, sport togs, etc. The quick wit of a hidden commentator, a local fashion expert, provided extra entertainment throughout the show. The store and the airline were pleased with the success of the show and the theatre reaped a large portion of the goodwill feeling evident in the audience. QThe seventh annual Easter egg hunt of Rochester, N. Y., was held Saturday at Genesee Valley Park. The reason this is of interest to Round Tablers stems from the fact that the chairman of the egg coloring committee was Lester Pollock, manager of Loew's theatre in the city made, famous by Eastman Kodak. The hunt is sponsored by the Uncle Dan's Birthday Club of the Democrat and Chronicle, which meant a wealth of goodwill publicity for Pollock and the theatre. It is of interest to note, too, that Pollock managed to have the prizes distributed from the theatre. Smart showmanship ! € Clothes rationing is still enforced in England and it is not a very liberal ration. The Herald's London office reports that when the opportunity came along of obtaining some uniforms off the ration the Gaumont British Picture Corporation wasted no time in ordering for their theatres. The uniforms were government surplus stock and originally belonged to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (Woman's branch of the Army). They needed a few adjustments— dyeing of dark blue with the addition of gold braid. Ralph Phillips, manager of the New Cross Cinema, New Cross, London, hearing of this deal, jumped in and ordered uniforms for his usherettes with the result he now has a smartly-outfitted staff until such time as he can return to pre-war materials. g% Louis Nye, manager of the Hoosier 'J theatre, Whiting, Ind., just recently acclaimed by the Manta and Rose circuit for accumulating the most Quigley Awards mentions among their showmen, has had considerable success with a Friday Date Night promotion. The weekly event was started two months ago as an experiment. Each couple attending the theatre Friday night, whether young or old, receives a numbered coupon. The stub is left in a box in the lobby for a drawing on stage. The winning couple is escorted to the stage where the girl is presented with an orchid corsage and has a photo-portrait taken. The photo is kept on display all week in the lobby. The promotion is no longer in the experimental stage. For showmen Nye reported this week : "Still doing excellent business Friday Nights." 48 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 12, 1947