Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

Celling the P J Ohi$ Departm Picture to the Public Department Was Established September 23, 1911 bij Us Present&dUor y Spes Winthrop Sargent Edgar Hart Finds Children’s Matinees Are Fine Builders of Extra Business EPORTING on his January activities, Edgar Hart of the Colonial Theatre, Portsmouth, N. H., writes that his best bet has been a couple of r * children’s matinees, the second the result of the huge success of the first. Initially Edgar only planned to give a special morning show on the day before Christmas with Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro, Our Gang’s Telling Whoppers and an Aesop’s Fable. Mrs. Charles Dale, wife of the Mayor, headed a special list of patronesses, and each child was given a small gift, 1256 presents being given out to as many youngsters. There was a large Christmas tree, and as Edgar could not get a suitable Santa Claus so far as voice was concerned, he hid back of the tree and megaphoned Santa’s speeches, the impersonator merely moving his lips and supplying appropriate gestures. Edgar used to be an actor, and he is there with the voice. The party was such a success that many mothers urged that he have another, and two weeks later, the picture being Man of the Forest, he gave a special with popcorn instead of presents. He got the corn in bulk and as each child passed the doorman a scoop of the popcorn was poured into his or her hat. A third event was announced as a Peanut Party, and for this Edgar bought a bag of peanuts and used it in the lobby to advertise the event. These three parties have been so well received that he plans a special whenever he has a picture booked for Saturday that will appeal to the child patrons. Plays Fruits and Flowers The next will be an apple afternoon and with other fruits and flowers Edgar feels that the supply of ideas will hold out. It is not so much the value of the gift as it is the talking point the gift supplies, and even with a ten cent admission the stunt shows a money profit not to mention the good ■will engendered. Moreover where he uses the regular program, the children go home and talk their elders into attending in the evening. Another good stunt is a permanent hookup to the Boston and Maine busses. The railroad company operates a fleet and Edgar talked them into letting him have a conspicuous space in which he sells the idea of his show and bus patronage. Clever copy has increased the bus business as well as his own, and he now has space in twelve busses. They cost only the cards, and a special rate has been made by the sign writer, so that this charge is very light. Edgar also sends in a photograph of a display he made from the three-sheet of Twinkletoes. This shows Colleen with one foot in the air. He wired a three-way socket to the tip of the toe, put in flash buttons and small lamps, and the toes actually twinkle, the movement getting much more than the usual attention from the passers-by. As he had the electrical material, the only cost was for the sheet and the compoboard. Edgar also sends in a bottle of perfume gotten out for Blond or Brunette. He printed up some ornate stock labels and the bottle makes a fine flash for limited distribution. Students Helped Sell Valencia for Stewart Putting over Valencia at the Sterling theatre, Greeley, Col., G. R. Stewart enlisted the student bodies of the university, giving them half of their direct ticket sales, looking to the general advertising for his profit. The students not only splashed Valencia all all over the campus, but they combined in a special prologue of Spanish songs and dances for the first night of the picture, and that ran business into a three figure advance. Not only that, but it served to jazz up the showing and send satisfied patrons out to tell the rest of the town. As the picture was shown just after the Christmas holidays, the campaign not only put Valencia over, but got the students back to the Sterling habit. It’s worth a concession just to get the crowd coming back after a recess, and if the concession can be made to create extra business in itself, so much the better. Let Old Settlers See The Flaming Frontier John W. Creamer, of the Burford Theatre, Arkansas City, Kans., asked all the oldtimers to come and see The Flaming Frontier as the guests of the house and the local paper, and the newspaper handed out the invitation. You had to be 65 years old to qualify. It brought out quite a crowd, many of whom had not seen a picture in several years, and the old time scenes thrilled them the more because they were so unused to the pictures. This, of course, made for a better newspaper story, and the story brought in those under the age limit. A Blanket Frame For one still frame Mr. Creamer borrowed an unusually good Indian blanket from a friend and sewed the stills and announcement cards to the surface. Mr. Creamer made so much of the unusual features of the picture that he even persuaded the bank to rescind its rules and permit the display of a one sheet in its banking room. This helped to convince a lot of the solid citizens that they should see the picture, and it materially aided in building business. Economical Eddie Eddie Collins, of the Queen Theatre, Galveston, did not see why he should hire naval uniforms for We’re In the Navy Now when there was a revenue cutter in port. He slipped out a few passes and got the blues. His entire house staff was uniformed the week in advance of the picture, (when it would do the most good), and then Eddie shuffled the uniforms so that the big men got the little ones and vice versa and sent out six men to carry banners announcing the opening. EDGAR HART’S FLASHING FOOT FOR TWINKLETOES A three-way socket, each with a flasher button fastened to the upraised toes of a three-sheet cutout, made a fine lobby display for the Colonial Theatre, Portsmouth, N. H. A card just under the three lamps repeats the title.