Ballyhoo (Apr 18, 1955)

Page scan 0004 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Apr 18, 1955
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Apr 18, 1955) Ontario 'B' District
Leaf #:
0004
Language:
English
Collection:
Canada, Global Cinema, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Greig Dymond in memory of David Dymond, Paul Moore and Jessica Whitehead
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:

Ballyhoo

  • Ontario 'B' District Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1952-55)
  • Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’, editor: Dan Krendel (1955)
  • National Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1956-57)
  • Time Out for Ticket Talk, editor: Norman Barker (1960-61)

Ballyhoo (1952-61) was published by Famous Players Canadian Corporation as a mimeographed internal sales and theatre managers’ newsletter. Editor, Dan Krendel, had been division manager of the Ontario ‘B’ District since 1942, and initially created Ballyhoo in 1952 to circulate weekly updates for a regional sales contest. Ontario ‘B’ District Ballyhoo continued until 1955 as a tool for sharing and incentivizing new sales techniques and publicity methods as the movie business declined in the face of television and the baby boom.

In Fall 1955, Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’ was a nationwide sales contest, named for Famous Players’ president J. J. Fitzgibbons, honouring his 25th year as head of the business. Dan Krendel was made National Drive Captain and edited a weekly newsletter for the campaign.

From 1956 until at least 1957, National Ballyhoo was published weekly with Krendel as editor. He continued the style and content developed earlier for his Ontario ‘B’ District, but now extended vastly for a chain-wide coast to coast scale. Ballyhoo’s sharing promotional tools came at a time of contracting box office as television and automobile ownership became prevalent in the mid-1950s.

By 1960 until at least 1961, Time Out for Ticket Talk continued as a mimeographed newsletter, edited by Norman Barker of the head office publicity department. Time Out was compiled on a less ambitious scale than Ballyhoo. Compared to the earlier national compilation of local publicity gimmicks, Time Out often contained only a single memo or reproduced local story, and was often undated and only informally edited.

– Paul Moore, March 2024

Date Added:
April 11, 2024
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RALLYROO DRUMBEATS I ain't happy guys ... your stuff this week isn't all it should, or could be. Kinda thin, if you ask mo ... with the exception, of sourse of those few, who rain or shine always manage to cone through with a real effort. Of course your product may have been unsalsable this week ... if there is such a thing a3 unsaleable nerschandiss im our business ... which for my dough is anything but a fact. Let's take a peek. During the past week, and in the coming throe weeks wo have played and will be playing sueh attractions as ... BRIDGES OF TOKO-RI ooo 29,000 LEAGUES ooo COUNTRY GIRL goa UNTAMED a2oo GREEN FIRE ... STAR IS BORN ... LAST TIME I SAW PARIS ... BATTLE CRY ... HIT THE DECK ets. ete. Want me to mention a fow more? If they're not worthy of your very best exploitation efforts ... then man you're just in the wrong business. Aad let's see who's misslng this week.... Bob Harvey was playing MANY RIVERS TO CROSS part of the week and 20,000 LEAGUES the rest of the time. Guess there's just nothing one can seli in these two ... Jer had HIT THE DECK ... how can anyone be expected to do a seliing job on a thing like that? Sheuld soli itself, Herb Chappe2 was playing THE RACERS ... and after ali, why go to any trouble to tell the ticket-buying public about £t? Listen guys, when I said that I expected a selling job fron EVERY MANAGER in this group, EVERY WEEX ... I wasn't kidding. If semebody should just happen toe ask you why busineas wasn't tee geod ooo you haye seme good answers ready ... won't you? And among them don't forget to mention that you just didn’t bether to sell your goeds. I°4i expect an entry from each of you every week from HOw ON ooo You wen't disappoint me, will you? Ali pight, all right ... so I'11 quit the bellyaching, and say some nice things about the guys who DO believe in doing a selling job ... every day, every week, ALL THE TIME. Seems to me that's what we're im business fer ... De you agree? ‘ In the U.S. trade headlines I see a very brief mention of something Herb Chappel did a few weeks age in the SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, cepy dated April 2nd. EOXOFFICE under dato ef April 9th carries a very nice picture and boxed story regarding a goed Co-epn promoted by Jack Ward ... aiso a brief item on one of George Forhan's stunts. In the "Showmen in Action" seetion of Walter Brooks! RIUND TABLE XY see mentioned a couple of deals of Art Cauley'sa and Mel, Jolley's. Nothing at all in EXHIBITOR. Not too much for two full weeks ...0 but maybe the fault ilies right at home oo. Yeu should know better than I. Let's try and f111 these pages fellows ... it's good for yoa and good for us here in the office. We like to see your names in print ... and I have an idea you don't disiike the idea either. S50 ..get in there ... The editers are happy to print . anything that can act as a guide to other showmen. The rest is uo to you, S® ooo Let's get on with the business of reperting such activities as we have at hand ... and let's see where the points ide this week ...