Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1927)

November 5, 1927 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 31 Celling the Picture to the Public r* j Ohis Department Was SstabLbhed September 23, 1911 by it$ Present 6dUor±t &pe$ Winthrop Sargent IF YOU HAVE A GOOD PERSONALITY MAKE IT WORK FOR YOUR THEATRE 1i ALKING things over with an out-of-town manager lately, he spoke with ill fine scorn of his competitor. “He’s all the time talking about himself,” was the argument. He spoke as though this were something almost criminal. He admitted that the other house did a good business and that people seemed to like the manager, in spite of his forwardness, and he was considerably taken aback when we suggested that the business might be due in some measure to the personality of the manager. He could not seem to realize that although the managerial personality was nothing to be displayed on screen or stage, it might none the less be a material contribution toward success. Or course, self advertisement can be carried to a distasteful extreme^ but the manager who does not sell himself and his house as well as his films and his stage show is losing out. This may not always be practical in chain operations: indeed some chains discourage if they do not positively forbid the personal angle, but where it is possible, particularly in a small town, the personal angle means more than many persons realize. The fact that John Jones is a good fellow will not make his films any better, but if Jones comes reasonably close to the opposition house’s show, the personality may be the deciding factor in ticket purchases. Other things being equal, the public will patronize Jones because they know and like him. Jones is the Strand and the Strand is Jones. The other house is just the Bijou; a theatre without personality back of it. We saw this carried to an extreme once when a leading vaudeville house in a western city was not permitted to give Sunday performances. Three weeks after the house had been closed on Sundays a newspaper man asked the breezy Mayor why it was that a cheaper resort was permitted to give two shows on Sundays. “I’ll tell you why,” was the prompt response. “Jake is a regular fellow and this man Blank is a fish.” That was the way it worked. The man who was called by his first name was genial and well-liked. The other man was cold and reserved. He was removed from his position at the end of the season and the following year both houses were open. In a lesser degree this holds good in every community. The man who is well liked gets the concessions. He is turned to for help in putting municipal ideas over. He often originates suggestions. He is a part of the town. He belongs. He is a member of the business luncheon club, he belongs to the fraternal orders. He is ready to help the churches and schools. He leads off subscription lists. He is the first man most persons think of when they want something done. But he is not egotistical and self-centered. He does not use the style of presswork that refers to him as the “genial” or “hustling” manager. He lets others put in the adjectives. He is content merely to keep his name to the fore as a doer of things. Nothing is more fatal to the success of any theatre than an upstage manager, bloated with a sense of his own importance. He drives patronage away and people tire of his eternal self-praise. A manager can go into a town and kill a house in three months, or he can make a new stand and put himself over in six weeks. It all depends upon the man. Given the right personality, the manager who does not use it is cheating himself. He is wasting one of his best exploitation assets. It is foolish to argue that it is poor taste. It is not poor taste, but mighty poor business not to use personality. Where do you suppose the Roxy would be if Rothafel had hidden his light under a bushel? He gives a good show, but it is Roxy that gives emphasis to the show idea. And H. M. Addison, in Buffalo, and M. W. Larmour, down in Graham, Texas, mean just as much to their theatres, though Addison works for a chain and Larmour is on his own. There are hundreds of others who make their houses liked because they make themselves liked. It’s not because they enjoy seeing their names in the paper. It’s because they realize the cash value of the name to the house. If you are one of those hardshells wk look with contempt on personal popularity, come out of the shell. You are hurting yourself and your house. Announcer Announced Knowing that the auto races would get the crowd at Charlotte, N. C., Warren Irvin, of the Carolina, arranged to horn in. The announcer not only wore a back sign for Swim, Girl, Swim, but he megaphoned the fact that Bebe was at the Carolina, giving a fine bunch of mass publicity. EXPLOITATION FLOATS BY THE PHILADELPHIA M-G-M EXCHANGE FOR SUPERS Jay Emanuel not only provides sound effects for exhibitors using The Big Parade, but he has devised exploitation floats on the Parade and Ben-Hur to create a local demand. After these have been used for downtown exploitation, they will be laid off to the suburban managers. This is an old stunt of Jay’s who realizes that the way to sell is to exploit.