Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

N o v e m her 22 , 1930 Motion Picture News 69 MANACEKr KCLND TABLE CLUB Meet Robert Glick Of Neth's Eastern In Columbus, Ohio And now here's another showman from the J. Real Neth Theatres in Columbus, Ohio. Robert C. Glick, manager of the Eastern Theatre, enjoys the double distinction of being the youngest showman on the circuit and of managing the only house in town that provides headphones for the hard of hearing of the Ohio city. Fifty seats in the Eastern are equipped with the hearing device. Click keeps a record of all the persons using the phones in the theatre, and to date his book holds over 495 names and addresses, included among them visitors from as far away as New York and St. Louis. Letters sent to the theatre, to Mr. Neth, and to newspaper critics prove that the earphone installation was a most excellent move. A list of coming attractions for four weeks ahead is posted in the reading rooms of the Columbus League for the Hard of Hearing, thereby enabling members to plan parties in advance. There is no advance in price to audiphone users. The stunt has done much to boost up the good-will stock of the house. And certainly it has given the theatre plenty of publicity. We'd like to hear some more about Mr. Glick's work and we hope that it will be soon. And, oh, yes! We want to express our thanks to Miss Jean La Roe, publicity director of the circuit, for keeping us posted on the chain's goings-on. We want to hear from her again, too. We've presented many ac Milton Wiaht Had counts of the activities inlUUlon YTigni HUU duiged in by the live-wire man An Ad That Sold His agers of the Inland Theatres, Inc., the circuit headed by Sr. and Jr. Mercy — and we are sure that you will agree with us that they were something worth talking about. We've had Frank Hill, Lyman Lynn, Arch Bartholet, Ray Myersick, Milton Wight and others too numerous to mention who have passed along work that contained something of value to their fellow showman. Their steady flow of contributions are typical of the real Club spirit. And the real Club spirit may be seen on the Mercy chain also. The men are "All for One and One for All"— a standard that probably accounts for the success of the circuit. We have another contribution to pass along today. This one is from Milton Wight, manager of the Liberty Theatre in Pasco. Wash. In the time he has been in the show game, Wight has made use of every moment. He has tried to keep his house before the public in every way possible. One of his recent means for doing this came to light when he played "Holiday." All of the stores in Pasco are closed on Sunday, the day when a new picture opens at the local playhouse. Desiring to secure big business on his opening day, Wight made up a bunch of door hangers. Copy on them read: "Todav Is a Holiday— We Will be Closed Today, So We May See 'Holiday,' Now Playing at the Liberty." Persons on the street were, of course, attracted by the unusual sight of the closed signs on the doors of the leading business establishments. They made haste to inquire the cause by reading the card. As a result, the plug for the picture proved valuable, the reader no doubt deciding to see the show. The slight cost involved in the printing of the cards was more than paid for in the additional business that resulted from the stunt. Patrons On Picture THE SHOWMAN'S CALENDAR! This great exclusive feature of the Club pages is now well over a year old and we can recall no other showman-aid, in any trade publication, which can be compared in value with this. Thousands of members and readers plan most of their future activities by following the Calendar weekly, if YOU are not doing the same you are passing up a marvelous bet. Dozens of the items published may just apply to your house, yet, if you don't see it in the Calendar you may never know until the event is over that you had a natural for boosting business or tieing into some attraction. The Showman's Calendar contains a wealth of information for the live-wire exhibitors who are quick to grasp every opportunity to pep up the b.o. Along with this story, we are showing an ad that Wight used to sell his week's show. There's a humorous angle that we want to point out. The ads for the theatre are run weekly, the local paper making only one appearance. With a whole week's show to sell, Wight's ingenuity is taxed to the utmost to get the best results out of the expenditure. In this layout, we want to single out the ad on "Her Man." Wight did not receive his press sheet on time, thus he knew very little about the picture. The result was a solid type ad. The remarkable part of this ad is that the copy just fits the picture. There's nothing excessive in it. The film, if we recall, is a thriller that makes an excellent audience picture. A perusal of the review in the Sept. 13 issue of Motion Picture News will bear out our statement. So without press sheet, Wight turned out an ad that sold them. And it doesn't detract from the lay-out. It makes the picture stand out. Being a good picture, it deserves to be plugged. If a film has the goods, it can be plugged to the nth degree. We are glad to see that Wight is still delivering at his house. Keep it up. Milton, and let's hear from you and the rest of the showmen on your circuit real soon. When "Follow Thru" playForrester Released ed the World Theatre Kear ney, Nebraska, Eddie ForresBunch Of Golf Balls ter, manager of the house, . , ~, , conducted a triple-threat cam AS Advance atunt pajgn that won his theatre a — touchdown, judged by the box office receipts. Miniature golf equipment was borrowed from an outdoor course which went broke, and three holes of the course were moved into the lobbv of the theatre. All patrons were allowed to play the course, and for everv hole-in-one, a guest ticket was issued. The course was called "The Follow Thru CourseTiny but Tough." Cut-outs were advantageously spotted on the course. In addition to his regular screen advertising. Manager Forrester used a stunt inside the theatre three days in advance that created a great deal of talk about town. On the screen, it was announced that 24 golf balls would be released from the back rows of the theatre and they would roll down under the seats. Patrons were to try to catch them. If the number on the golf ball corresponded with the numbers in the box-office at the end of the show, the holders of the lucky numbers would receive free tickets. When released— the golf balls would hit the iron legs of the seats and bounce in every direction. The patrons entered into the spirit of the thing and were down on their hands and knees looking for the golf balls. The Kearney Dailv Hub ran a two-column 7 inch line cut of Buddy Rogers and Nancy Carroll, which was used as a basis fur a coloring contest. These activities more than put the picture across. We hooe that Eddie will keep us in touch with his future work so that we can pass it along to his fellow Club members.