Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1947)

^An international association of showmen meeting weekly in MOTION PICTURE HERALD for mutual aid and progress CHESTER FRIEDMAN. Editor Goodwill Dividends Testimonials to the solid value of efforts spent in building goodwill are not scarce but they are always worth hearing. This week two Round Table members of long standing are in with detailed and interesting reports of campaigns along this line. The first, from Antonio Balducci, manager of the Rivoli in South Fallsburg, New York, is particularly noteworthy because of the obstacles which had to be overcome. South Fallsburg is in the heart of the Catskill vacation area but it is a year-'round house, and one of the major difficulties facing Mr. Balducci was the need of building regular patronage to support the box office after the vacationers leave. Blocking this, in turn, was the fact that he was the first non-local manager to take over the house and he had to overcome normal native resistance to an outsider. In a two-page letter to the Round Table Mr. Balducci recounts how he accomplished his objective. His principal means were the standard ones— active and interested participation in all community projects, with special attention to Boy Scouts and other youth organizations and particularly to cooperation with schools. One of these programs Included special talks at the theatre on fire and accident prevention which, Mr. Balducci notes, resulted immediately in an end to smoking in the theatre which had been so widespread as to be dangerous. In connection with the school activities, the theatre staged a special historical display of Indian relics and another of Theodore Roosevelt western material which were incorporated by the teachers In the social study courses and which resulted in an invitation to Mr. Balducci to lecture before the high school student body. * * * The prize piece in the campaign, however, was the popularization of chess as a means of bringing people together and fostering community interest. "Don't minimize It," Mr. Balducci says. "It has caught on here like wildfire. The theatre Is a center for chess talks, games and tournaments. Several clubs have been organized here and in the surrounding towns; three high schools have organized clubs, and the local school is promoting funds to install the game as part of its curriculum. We are at the moment organizing a central executive committee, covering the entire county and including several political and civic leaders, to keep the game going and maintain a schedule of tournaments. Newspapers, whose editors love the game, are solidly behind the movement and freely give us as much space as we desire." The result of his goodwill campaign, Mr. Balducci modestly says, is that "often our attendance is greater in one night than is the population of our community. The viewpoint, I believe. Is healthfully changing." The second report is from Ted E. Waggoner of the Wallace Theatres in Tahoka, Texas. He manages the circuit's three houses, the Rose, the Wallace and the Lynn. Reporting his activities for the year which, he says, "helped my town and county and that's just like putting money in the bank", Mr. Waggoner tells us that he was president of the Chamber of Commerce which he organized and built up to 251 members, home service chairman for the Red Cross, program chairman for the Rotary Club, county chairman for the March of Dimes, the Red Cross and the U.S.O. campeiigns, and organizer and -chairman of a local committee to care for war widows which built three small houses and started a business. In addition, Mr. Waggoner helped the town fathers certify 50 merchants for on-the-job training for veterans and he has had four veterans training in his theatre. During the holidays the theatre staff popped over 100 pounds of corn and distributed it to children on the streets. On January I a borrowed radio was Installed on the stage of the Lynn theatre, which opens only two days a week, and the townspeople were Invited in to hear the Bowl footba-ll games. In Icy weather Mr. Waggoner has an usher stationed In front of each theatre to help push stalled motorists. "My idea of selling pictures," Mr. Waggoner says, "is to sell them through the people. I Intend to be so nice to my patrons that they will help me sell the pictures. Each Saturday we have an employe,es' meeting to study ways and means of extending our service and courtesy. In this way I intend to beat the after-the-war lull." * * * Both these men, working in communities which are typical of thousands of others in the nation, have achieved a community confidence in their theatres which Is paying off in steady patronage. The essence of what the industry like to call "the movie habit" is in operating your theatre so that the members of your community think of it as a friendly place to spend an evening. —CHESTER FRIEDMAN MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JANUARY 18, 1947 h\