Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1956)

British Round Table B. W. E. NETHERCOTE, manager of the Regal cinema, Gloucester, ran a baby beauty contest to tie in with "The Baby and the Battleship” and had the cooperation of a baby foods company for good window displays. . . . SYDNEY L. SALE, manager of the Granada Cinema, Dover, fortunate in having the local Road Safety Committee tie up with him for “It’s Never Too Late” by having 2,000 give-aways printed and distributed throughout the schools. . . . N. SCOTT-BUCCLEUCH, manager of the Lonsdale cinema, Carlisle, promoted a 45 pound cake and had it displayed in his lobby for the anniversary of the theatre when he played "It’s Great to be Young,” the cake later going to a local hospital. He also advertised for couples about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary to be guests of the theatre and promoted gifts of a table lamp and bouquet for the only couple who qualified. . . . JOHN L. SMITH, manager of the Ritz cinema, Edinburgh, had eight hotels and restaurants cooperate in his exploitation for "Wedding Breakfast” by emphasizing the title of the picture in their advertising for wedding arrangements. . . . J. S. D. JONES, assistant manager of the Regal cinema, Abingdon, decorated the pay box with hobby horses — one on each side and one above — when he played “Carousel.”. . . D. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, manager, and his assistant, T. R. EDWARDS, decided that “The Man Who Knew Too Much” lent itself ideally to a cake weight-guessing contest and promoted one weighing lO1/^ pounds. 400 patrons filled out entry blanks and the cake was presented on stage to the winner who turned it over to the children’s ward of the local hospital. . . . G. WILLIAMS, manager of the Regent cinema, Chatham, arranged for the local Sea Cadets to march to the theatre and form a guard of honor for civic officials who were invited to the opening night showing of "The Baby and the Battleship.” ▼ ▼ ▼ JOHN W. ABBOTTS, assistant manager of the Granby cinema, Reading, had a man in Indian costume tour the town distributing throw-aways and novel railway ticket heralds to tie in with the railroad stations shown in "Bhowani Junction, and 3,000 overprinted bookmarks were given out by the county library to all local branches. . . . E. R. BANGAY, another enterprising assistant manager and a new Round Table member, arranged with the donors in the national ‘Wedding Breakfast” (titled “The Catered Affair” over here) contest to display the prizes in the lobby of his Castle cinema in Merthyr Tydfil, Scotland, and articles like refrigerators, washing machines, carpets, etc., gave the picture impressive advertising. . . . BRIAN BINT, manager of the Gaumont theatre, Chorlton cum Hardy, distributed I, 000 overprinted fan portraits of Jeff Chandler for "Away All Boats” at a local ballroom on the Saturday before playdate, and says the fact that he did not have enough to go around attracted much attention for the film as the girls all tried to get the pictures. Many other exploitation campaigns from this good showman in recent mails. . . . J. W. BONNICK, manager of the Regal cinema, Halifax, tied up with local shops for window and theatre lobby displays of household goods when he played “Wedding Breakfast,” and distributed 1,000 heralds to factory workers in the area. ... A. BUCKLEY, manager of the Ritz cinema, Brighouse, also playing "Wedding Breakfast,” promoted a giant display of wedding bouquets for his lobby and invited a couple who were about to celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary to be guests for the film. J. A. GALLAGHER, manager of the Regal cinema, Kilmarnock, Scotland, promoted nine full shop window displays for “It’s Great to be Young” and distributed safety pin throw-aways to the amusement of patrons. . . . T. F. GRAZIER, manager of the Odeon theatre, Hanley, mounted a cut-out mountain on his theatre front when he played “The Mountain,” painting it with silver to make it stand out at night, and promoted a lobby display of outdoor sports equipment from a local shop who also provided a window display for the picture. . . . E. D. HAINGE, manager of the Odeon theatre, Birmingham, promoted gold-filled watch and cuff links as prizes in a contest to list the greatest number of picture titles containing the word “gold,” in exploitation of “Solid Gold Cadillac.” The contest was given 203 s.c. inches of newspaper space — value £565 at advertising rates! . . . D. M. HEATLIE, assistant manager of the Regal cinema, Aberdeen, Scotland, promoted full page cooperative newspaper advertising for “The Last Hunt.”. . . BYRON D. LAMB, assistant manager of the Odeon theatre, Manchester, distributed Odeon Cinegrams in the form of telegrams to advertise “Reach for the Sky.”. . . G. MELVILLE LEGATT, manager of the Kelburne Cinema, Paisley, obtained plenty of newspaper space with pictures when he played “Toy Tiger.” He contacted the head of a circus which was then 25 miles away and arranged for a tiger and her trainer to attend the preview of the picture. . . . NAT MATTHEWS, manager of the Ritz cinema, Leyton arranged a lobby exhibition for “Bhowani Junction” depicting a Pakistan railway station, complete with national flags and handicrafts and women in saris. . . . S. V. MURDOCH, manager of the Gaumont theatre, Anfield, Liverpool, attached labels to old keys worded “The key to the best entertainment in town, ‘Trapeze’ ” and left them in stores, cafes and buses. He also had paper arrows on store windows. T ▼ ▼ T. A. WRIGHT, manager of the Regal cinema, Handsworth, needed no words to advertise “The Swan” when he displayed a huge cut-out swan as front of the house publicity. A second swan in the lobby gave playdate information. . . . R. J. CRABB, manager of the Lyric cinema, Wellingborough, had a male member of his staff dress as a sailor and parade the town with his arm in a sling and face swathed in bandages — for “Sailor Beware” — a street stunt which he says is still being talked about. . . . WILLIAM G. WILSON, manager of the Regal cinema, Ilford, celebrated his Minors’ birthday week with a "Guy” competition, with promoted prizes for the winners. Balloons and paper hats were given to all on arrival and a local dance band leader entertained the children — all at no cost to the theatre. . . . ROY FIELDER, manager of the Bristol cinema, Birmingham, tied up with the largest toy store in town for a giant working model railway lobby display for “Bhowani Junction.”. . . L. G. WEBSTER, manager of the Savoy cinema, Northhampton, had "slaves” pull gigantic blocks of “stone” through the streets in the town’s carnival to publicize “Land of the Pharaohs.” . . . A. G. CRISP, manager of the Gaumont cinema, Norwich, has earned another CMA Showmanship Star for his exploitation help on the town’s trade fair. . . . G. LENNOX, assistant manager of the Royal cinema, Stirling, arranged tieups with local travel agency and music stores, one of the latter inviting customers to spin their roulette wheel to win tickets for “Viva Las Vegas.”. . . With all good wishes for a happy and peaceful New Year. — W. T. Woman Wins The Top S-W Annual Prize Mrs. Diane Gordon, manager of the Oritani Theatre, Hackensack, N. J., was the grand prize winner in Stanley Warner’s “Operation Showmanship” drive. She will receive a two-week all expense vacation trip to England. Second prize went to Irving Hillman, manager of the Roger Sherman Theatre, New Haven, who will receive a $1,000 U.S. bond. Third prize, a $750 bond, will go to William Wyatt, Virginian Theatre, Charleston, W. Va. Harry Kalmine, vice-president and general manager of the circuit, listed the following other winners: Honorable mention prize of a $200 U. S. bond, Rodney Collier, Stanley Theatre, Baltimore; Dominick Lucente, Broadway, Philadelphia; Harry Schlinker, Fresno Theatre, Fresno, Calif., and Gerald Luedtke, Rio Theatre, Appleton, Wis. District managers awards: Tony Williams, Newark, $500 bond; James Totman, New Haven, $250 bond, and Frank Harpster, Pittsburgh, $150 bond. For the best record of kiddie shows, Mrs. Gordon also won a $350 bond. George Kemp, Montauk Theatre, Passaic, N. J., also won a $350 bond for the best series of promotions and the same prize went to Lou Fordan, Memorial Theatre, McKeesport, Pa., for winning the miscellaneous income bracket. Mrs. Viola Folks, of the west coast-Hollywood office, won $100 for the best record of improved real estate income. Prizes of $500 each go to the following for best campaigns: Joe Miklos, Embassy, New Britain, Conn., for “U.F.O.”; George Birkner, Fabian, Paterson, N. J., for “Fastest Gun Alive”; William Wyatt, Charleston, for “Eddy Duchin Story,” and Dominick Lucente, Philadelphia, for “Away All Boats.” Hillman of New Haven also won $100 for his campaign on “The Great Locomotive Chase.” Diane Gordon and her daughter will leave for England in the early Spring and will visit at the Round Table next week, for pictures. TEASERETTES FAMOUS FOR MANY USES! These 3 frame trailers feature art backgrounds, photos and compelling off-stage voicel NO CONTRACTS, NO RETURNS! 1327 S. WABASH . CHICA 0 5. ILL. MANAGERS' ROUND TABLE SECTION, DECEMBER 29, 1956 33