Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1948)

lAn international association of showmen meeting weekly in MOTION PICTURE -HERALD for mutual aid and progress WALTER BROOKS, Director On favorite small-town exhibitor is Jim Mason, of Cherry Valley, Ohio. Jim is both owner and manager of the DeLuxe theatre, and he personifies the problems of the small-town man in the eyes of many. The illusion is both visual and vocal, for Jim frequently speaks his mind. We visited with him in New Orleans last week, for once a year Jim ventures on the steam cars to attend the National Allied convention, wherever it may be. He likes to mix with other small-town guys. Jim has grown into a better use of pressbooks, and a better understanding of showmanship, through the years. He likes to tell the story of a manager he used to know who nailed the pressbook to the front of his theatre, and then spent the day in the pool-hall. Folks could read about the picture as well as he — and it saved a lot of work. But some smart Alec discovered showmanship in the pressbook and bought the theatre. Jim's friend didn't wake up to what had happened until he was out of business. The other day Jim overheard another exhibitor friend of his, George Smith, who runs the Ritz theatre in Blankville, Ohio, complaining that the kids he hired to distribute heralds put them in the nearest ashcan, and he wasn't going to use heralds anv more. Jim says that's the way George operates. His staff does the same thing, and George don't know when the janitor sweeps the dirt under the rug, or how often he cleans the rest rooms. In Jim's opinion, George's wife is the better manager. She's a housekeeper. Jim puts out his own heralds through the Bon-Ton store. He gets three pages of advertising in two colors ; they get the back page, and do the whole job, including distribution. And they pay the whole bill for the privilege. Jim says they are so satisfied they keep asking what's coming up that will make a good herald. Jim is a real showman, for he knows his community and he knows INTERESTING STUDY Henderson M. Richey, head of exhibitor relations for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, tells us of an interesting survey which he has under way that will reveal, among other things, the number of motion picture theatres that are community owned or operated. He says it's surprising to see how many houses have been built with community funds and are managed by employees of the town at large. Somehow, it doesn't seem so surprising when one stops to think back over personal experience. Two theatres in our own ten years of theatre management were community enterprise. First, there was the Tioga theatre, at Owego, N. Y., and a fine, big theatre it was, that cost a lot of money. But Main Street, out front, was as busy as the street drop in one, if you know what we mean. As the poet says, it was "as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean." Then there was the Auditorium theatre, Coatesville, Pa., which was a different proposition. Owned and operated by the Y. M. C. A., it was both busy and professional, and still is, after thirty years. We've always been happy about the community spirit in that theatre; it was truly a community center, for entertainment and for other things. And the influence of the Auditorium was felt for many miles around; they still dominate their trading area. People like home enterprise; they like to know who own and operate the public benefits tha+ function in their own neighborhoods. show business. You can't keep a good man down. It's possible to do a whale of a job in even a small town like Cherry Valley. €Ted Baldwin, director of exploitation for Selznick Releasing Corporation, was a speaker before the Publicity Club of New York, at the Advertising Club on Park Avenue, last week, with a message to show outside industries how they could capitalize on the impact of the advertising, exploitation and publicity of a motion picture. Ted pointed out, "The influence of motion pictures is of undisputed strength on the buying habits of the American consumer." He said that bad timing and lack of follow-through may discourage some companies, but careful planning and sincere cooperation will turn the trick. Ted should know whereof he speaks, for he is responsible for the greatest example of dealer cooperation in motion picture history, the promotion and building of Mr. Blandings Dream House." €In October 1947, when the state of Maine had its disastrous forest fires, Governor Hildreth appealed to youngsters to forego their traditional Hallowe'en celebration, and at that time, Clarence Millett, owner, and Thomas Hanlon, manager of the State theatre, Bridgton, Maine, launched their personal campaign, making the theatre part of a new Hallowe'en holiday for children. A big, free matinee, sponsored by local merchants, was promised the kids for their cooperation. This year, local merchants provided 80 valuable prizes, given out at the theatre, as a reward for NOT plastering the town with soap, crayons or lipstick. Not a window, building or car, was smeared. The merchants of Bridgton think so well of the results that next year's plan is already sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the theatre. There will be another big Hallowe'en show ; and the whole thing has created a vast amount of good will in the community. — Walter Brooks