Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Mar 1954)

Zke ’Drive-in . . A Department Conducted by WILFRED P. JiMITD ...■for many years manager of regular theatres, then of drive-ins, later drive-in circuit executive in charge of construction and operation; now operator of his own drive-in at Ledgewood, N. J. Seen Among Exhibits of the Allied Drive-In Convention the stormy waters kicked up by stereophonic sound at the National Allied Drive-In Theatre Convention, in Cincinnati last month, have not yet subsided, and very likely won’t very soon. But despite the tempest in the meeting rooms, the drive-in operators found time for calm appraisal of the products on exhibit. Of the 66 booths in the exhibit hall of the Netherlands Plaza hotel, the majority seemed to have an interested cluster of exhibitors most of the time. One factor of primary importance that contributed to the good play received by the exhibits Was the meeting schedule of the convention. No meetings or special events of the program were scheduled during the morning hours of ten to noon. Phis, of course, gave the theatre operators a regular time on each of the three days to attend the exhibits, without being under pressure to be at a meeting at a specific time. Such an arrangement should be followed at all exhibitor conventions where there are equipment exhibits. Filling the eyes of one coming down the grand staircase into the exhibit hall was the impressive display of Miracle Whirl playground equipment. R. H. Inger was on hand from company headquarters in Grinnell, la. You can take his word for it that the equipment show was a great success. He signed up over $100,000 worth of orders during the three days! And across the aisle, at the three booths of National Theatre Supply, Jack Servies of that organization said, “If I had an inkling of the attendance we were going to get, I would have recommended our company’s taking five booths.” At the NTS display, incidentally, you could quench your thirst with Hires root beer and enjoy a hot dog grilled on J. J. Connolly equipment. A PHONE CALL AID A few steps away was exhibited one of the most practical gadgets I have seen, not only for a drive-in but for a conventional theatre as well. This was the “Fonadek.” A product of Special Devices, Inc., of Boston, it has been developed to expedite giving information by telephone. With this device, the attendant or cashier does not need to hold the receiver to the ear while giving the caller information relative to pictures and schedules. Upon hearing the telephone ring, she merely lifts the receiver and places it in a cradle. Her voice is amplified, and the transmitter operates through a small speaker unit. In the meantime the cashier can continue to sell tickets, and after the call is completed, she simply picks the phone up from the Fonadek cradle and replaces it in the telephone cradle. We ordered one immediately for delivery in time for spring reopening of the Garden Auto-Torium. When it came to soft drink dispensers, the exhibition certainly gave the visiting drive-in folks an eyeful — and a headful. There was a wealth of equipment on display, with products from such dealers in the field as Dispensers, Inc., of Long Island City, N. Y. ; Carbonic Dispensers, Inc., of Canfield, Ohio; Nehi Products with its “Drinkmaster” ; Dad’s Root Beer, Cole-Spa Products of Chicago; and Man ley, Inc., of Kansas City, Mo., with its “Ice-O-Bar.” They demonstrated more ways to serve a soft drink than we in exhibition have to exploit motion pictures. One of the most interesting exhibits was that of the Cinesnax Corporation of San Francisco. This organization demonstrated stainless steel cabinets for effectively preparing, storing and merchandising frozen novelties, frankfurters and popcorn. The company specializes in equipment to be set in the counter, for utilizing it not only in the preparation of merchandise, but in selling it. At the booth of Rainbow Visors of Toledo, many of us drive-in operators who have been looking for a practical visor that is inexpensive found what we had been looking for. William McLukie of that company said he would be glad to send a sample to any drive-in operator on request. In our own situation, we do receive numerous inquiries during the year from patrons as to whether they can purchase some kind of a protective rain visor. We have tried several during the past three years, without practical success. I believe Rainbow Visors have the answer. This item could be sold to the patron at cost, purely as a service. After all, if we can offer the patron a visor that would cost him closer to $5 in an automobile accessory store, for half that amount, it would create good-will to do so, besides encouraging drive-in attendance during inclement weather. ADVERTISING IN ADVANCE After the drive-in operators had heard A1 Sindlinger at the convention on the importance of “communication advertising,” there can be no doubt that more effort will he made to inform the public of u'hat, where and ivhen our pictures are showing. While newspapers do play a part, readership of the amusement page averages only 18% from Tuesday, rising to 40% 28 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 6, 1954