Publix Opinion (Sep 26, 1927)

\TARS OFFER EXPLOITATION PRIZES PUBLIX HARVESTER Gather Golden Grosses a (TRA A WARVEST § INCLUDE Publix Theatres Corporation, Paramount Building, New York, Week of Sept. 26th, 1927, DRIVE ENTHUSIAST \in’t it a grand and glorious ling— Vhen—_ You’re the manager of a Pubtheatre— And— \ friend walks in to your of» and suddenly gasps and s ‘‘Some class, whered yuh , it.’’? And the ‘‘it’’ he res to is a beautiful mahogany elve day desk clock. And 1 smile and appear very ch pleased as you say, ‘‘Oh it’s a little gift from a friend. mine.’”’ And then you vudly point to the autograph ich shows the clock to be a sent from the beauteous ther Ralston. Aint it a grand and glorious ling? af Well that same feeling will had by some Publix manager fore Xmas rolls around. For , beauteous blonde Esther is ering just such a prize to the nager who puts on the best siness getting campaign for * picture, ‘‘Figures Don’t »,’? one of the most rib-tick ¢ comedies that ever caused audience to giggle and gufv. Wiss Ralston is not the only r to eome forward with cial prizes for the best camigns on pictures in which y appear. Others include chard Dix, offering one com|} te hammered brass desk set; illaee” Beery, awarding a id pencil; Raymond Hatton, old fountain pen; Adolphe njou, a set of studs and cuff ks for evening dress; Bebe niels, a gold watch; Fred ompson, a wrist watch; orge Bancroft, a.silver cigare service including humidor; ester Conklin, one owl road 1 spotlight for automobile; uil Jannings, one leather ef ease and Clara Bow, onze desk lamp. Each prize ll be autographed from the r to the theatre manager and ll be a token that any man uld be proud to earn. Por these prizes every thea on the Publix Circuit is sible as the: competition for se awards is not limited to ose theatres which are comting for the Harvest Month izes. Neither will the contest the stars’ prizes be limited | Harvest Month alone. It ll run over two months, Oc| oer and November. And resmber it is for the best allound business building cam‘that a theatre puts on for their productions are vhere in this issue. JESSE LASKY, who offers two cash prizes—one $300 and the other $200—for best campaign on a Paramount picture during Harvest Month. OPTIMISTIC NOTE IN LETTERS ABOUT DRIVE Additional letters have been pouring in during the past week from Publix theatre managers all over the country endorsing the first Publix Harvest Month Drive which starts October 2nd. In all of these letters a note of optimism is struck and each and every manager appears to feel that at the end of the drive he will be some where up near the top. Some of the letters read in part: ‘Want to assure you that everyone in Texas is enthusiastically behind the drive and nothing will be left undone at this end of the line to make it outstandingly successful.’’ . ohn J. Friedl, picture in which the star] ring the prize appears. The Dallas, Texas, District Manager. “We have already started working on this campaign and feel sure that we are going to make a showing in all the Montgomery theatres. At least you can count on us in doing the very STARS OFFERING PRIZES PICTURES THEY'RE IN George Bancroft “Underworld” Wallace Beery. .‘‘In the Air’ Raymond Hatton. ‘‘In the Air’ i “Shanghai’”’ | Esther Ralston “Bigures Don’t Lie’ \ Emil Jannings “Way of All Flesh’”’ Fred Thompson “Jesse James’’ Chester Conklin “Tell It to Sweeney”’ Bebe Daniels “Swim Girl Swim’’ best possible in making this month an _ outstanding one. Should we be fortunate in winning a prize, my plan is to give about two-thirds to the employees who assisted in helping to get this prize.’’ H. C. Farley, Montgomery, Ala., City Manager, ‘This theatre and myself feel that McAlester will make a showing and break all past records for attendance. The employees and myself have already started our drive to be warmed up for the Publix Harvest Month only a few weeks away.’’ Adna M. Avery, Palace No. 2 JESSE LASKY OFFERS PRIZ PARAMOUNT PRODUCER WILL AWARD $500 FOR HARVEST MONTH DRIVE Jesse L. Lasky, Vice-President of Paramount Famous Players, | not only enthusiastically endorsed Publix Harvest Month, which will be inaugurated next week by the Publix Theatres Corporation, but in a telegram received from the West Coast studios this week he authorized two cash prizes to be added to the $2,500 in cash prizes that Publix is offering to the winners of the drive. These special prizes authorized by Mr. Lasky are an award of $300.00 and an award of $200.00, The prize stakes for which the Publix theatres of the three classifications will compete will be awarded on a quota basis. The special Lasky prizes will be awarded not necessarily on such a quota basis but to the two theatres which, in the opinion of the special committee that has | been appointed to handle the Publix Harvest Month Drive execute the best all-around campaign on a Paramount picture during the course of the Harvest Drive. This campaign will be judged from the standpoint of advertising, publicity, exploitation and the amount of the business built up as a result of such cam | paign. Of course the two Lasky prizes of $300.00 and $200.00 may be won by theatres which are in the money positions for the regular Publix prizes. On the other hand some theatre may be among the also-rans as far as the Publix prizes are concerned and on the strength of a brilliant all-around business getting campaign on a Paramount picture come in first or second for the two special Lasky prizes. The special committee appointed to handle the Harvest PARAMOUNT USES PLANE TO SPEED NEWS FILM Are you taking full advantage of the wonderful publicity angles that can be effected in conjunction with the showing of the Paramount News Reel? Exclusive News Reel shots properly handled should be a big help to you during Harvest Month. A further instance of the efficiency of the Paramount News Reel Organization was furnished this week when Paramount News exhibited in the Paramount, Rialto, Rivoli and Loew’s New York theatres on Sunday | evening at 9:30 pictures of the American Legion parade in Paris which were filmed exactly six days before, In addition to this feat Paramount News | delivered to the Associated Press 280 prints of the parade pictures just 17 minutes after the negative was received at the Paramount News laboratory in New York City. These pictures were shipped all over the country by special night mail. Through the ingenuity of the Paramount | News staff, working with Associated Press, | those news pictures were shown in the New York theatres a full day before the steamer that brought them could arrive in| New York. S. H. MacKean, assignment editer of Paramount News and WH. I. Wells, air-| plane’ pilot, hopped off from New York | Sunday morning in a Curtis sea-gull. They met the United States line Leviathan which carried the film 100 miles off shore. They circled above the ship several times. George Ercolo, Paris cameraman for Paramount News on board the Leviathan, then drepped an airtight metal box, containing 6 cans of film, into the water. The box was attached to a rope 100 feet in length, equipped with 20 cork floats. The plane then landed, circled the ship, located the cork-buoyed rope and hauled | in the film. The plane then flew back to New York. Theatre, McAlester, Okla. ** Will cooperate one hundred percent helping make this the biggest drive ever put on by my corporation. I find this to be one of the finest drives that I have ever participated in and I feel sure that I will give someone in my division a close run for the prizes.’”?’ John D. Moody, York Theatre, Chattanooga, Tenn. © Month Drive is diligently working to make the affair the greatest ever conducted by a theatre organization. This special committee includes a member from each department in the Publix home office with D. J. Chatkin appointed as chairman. According to Mr. Chatkin the drive should give Publix the greatest month in its history as far as attendances and receipts goes. | The division of prizes and the man ner in which the drive will be conducted should be carefully studied and for that reason is reprinted as follows: The ist Classification—-All the De Luxe theatres playing the unit shows. The 2nd Classification—-All the theatres making one change a week without any unit shows and those making two changes a week. The 8rd Classification — All |theatres making three or more | changes a week. —Each classification will have a@ number of cash prizes as follows: The ist Classification, 2 Prizes —IAst Prize $500; 2nd Prize $250: The 2nd Classification, 4 Prizes ——Ist Prize $300; 2nd Prize $200. 3rd Prize $150; 4th Prize $100. The 3rd Classification, 6 Prizes —-Ist Prize $150; 2nd Prize $125; 3rd Prize $100; 4th Prize $75; 5th Prize $50; 6th Prize $50. In addition to the above there } will be @ prize of $250 to go to ithe district manager whose dis trict makes the best showing based on the percentage of his houses that exceed the expectancy by the largest amount. There is also to be a prize of $100 to go to the district booker whose district makes the finest showing. Also an engraved emblem significant of this drive will be given to each and every prize winner |including all those participating with the manager of the winning theatres.