Ballyhoo (Oct 28, 1955)

Page scan 0009 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Oct 28, 1955
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Oct 28, 1955) Profit Blitz for 'Fitz'
Leaf #:
0009
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 17, 2025
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$10,000 IN CASH PRIZES hi PROFIT with showmeans P SERVE with showmanship showmanship @, oft lilz e@ sors Me ede 1955 SAVE with HONOURING 25 YEARS OF INSPIRED LEADERSHIP IN FAMOUS PLAYERS National Drive Captain DAN KRENDEL SAVE WITH SHOWMANSHIP Here's one way of cutting expenses in the booth ... but, you've got to know how, Truman Marr, manager of the Paramount in Kentville tells me that you can add many hours of use to your tungar bulbs by this simple expedient ... These bulbs are not cheap, and it appears that they stop operating due to continued arcing at the base contacts, caused by the alternate heating and cooling process, If not kept tight in their sockets they deteriorate much more quickly. Truman's operator, by trial and error, discovered that if the bottom contacts are filed slightly, the bulb's life expectancy can be greatly increased. Many bulbs are discarded as useless due to an accumulation of oxide on the contacts, although the filament is still as good as new, Try this one on your projectionist ... and make sure that he tries it too, oXeoXeXoXe From Arthur Fitch of the Empire in Kentville I learn another very valuable lesson ... Arthur used to be a projectionist, so perhaps his technical knowledge is greater than yours ... but you have projectionists too .., and they should be able to do a lot of the little repair jobs in the booth without having to holler for a service man ... This happened during Arthur's playing of the fight pic, in a packed house. One of the arc table switches overheated, and cut the switch in two. Art managed to bridge it temporarily, so the show could continue, and then, at intermission, he salvaged from some obsolute equipment in his basement another table switch, and managed to install it with only a few moments! delay in the show, As a matter of fact, no one but Art and his operator knew that any~ thing was wrong ... One way of making sure that "The Show Must Go On ..." is to know all there is to know about your end of the business ae and to make sure that you learn at least the basic principles of everybody else's job .., in your theatre. It!s good insurance fellows ... the premium is light ..., the benefits many, oX.X.X.X,X, What have YOU contributed to the SAVE ... SERVE ... SELL with Showmanship lately?