Publix Opinion (Mar 2, 1929)

PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF MARCH 2np, 1929 eadin epu n of Big Organization yomise Good Bills at Eastman,” read as follows al blix presentations at the F Theatre fulfill the a that geod shows be given; justify the exation that they will continue unde its management. To Dwriter, who saw the Bal ‘and Katz organization gro jm one Chicago theater into the mighty Publix chain, the fé that good shows are being given here comes as ro su e, I | be surprising if they were NOT. For the very name has. ‘the beginning been syn pus with good, clean en ment. € assurance given by astman that high class Shows will be given, some Ro jans had held to the opinion that a backward step was. m in leasing to the Pub: yi Th ‘ars are unjustified. Th stman Theater will not be desecrated by any production presented by Publix. Its record ecade and tremendous popularity are the s of that, : are colorful plenty and ul there would be hension in a change : sement of a theaad attained the a civie institution. jieve Mr. Eastman when he expressed pchester will like nment. Would rather have iting effectively on an lause’”’ basis, than on tman basis of applaudOpic effort. In other _the old system, the ve the public what thought was best for whereas Publix gives “what the public indi. All three theatres ‘Satisfactory business, @ on the circuit is amunity as Publix-conSs appreciative of our -organizational ‘re hent to the press, Mr Jaining why he turn le theatres to Publix part: zed that the time has 1¢ hig combinations of ‘genius. Mr. i Mr. Sam Katz, as heads iy of Paramount and ‘known as the outof the industry be@ organizations they ad 6and = successfully so I regard it as forwe have‘been able to 0 Rochester.” ck bration Week wed from page 1) ng Publix Celebration >: Wolf of Wail! Murder Case, The kin, Weary River, d, Doctor’s Secret, Redeeming’ Sin, The ht Club, On Trial and ncholy Dame, De iniata and Kisses. , TALKING COMLion’s Roar and Adolph | GETTING THE DOPE! _ City Manager Melvin L. Murphy and his high powered staff that engineered the record breaking opening of Publix theatres in Rochester, N. Y., conning the pages of Publix Opinion where, they allege, the tipoff on a number of their successful stunts was found. Standing left to right, they are: M. Dryer, Manager of the Regent; J. S. O'Neil, Manager of the Easti tha Curtis, Publicity Director; Herbert Chatkin, Manager of the Piecadily and City Manager Murphy, seated. STIFF PROMOTED, ACTING DIVISION MANAGER NOW Cc. B. Stiff has been appointed Acting Divisional Manager under the supervision of Mr. Louis J. Sehneider, Divisional Director of Theatre Management, with headquarters at the Howard Theatre, Atlanta, Ga. Mr. Stiff’s -appointment fur nishes another example of the opportunities in the motion picture industry for those men who have grounded themselves in the rudiments of show business from the ground up.|} Starting in the} theatre busi-! ness as an usher some twenty years ago, Stiff passed through all the stages of theatre operation, until he became manager of a theatre in 1914. He managed various theatres of the Signal Amusement Company, operating in Chattanooga, and acted, on two occasions, as Gity Manager for the same concern.. Other theatres managed by Stiff were the Tivoli, Chattanooga and C. B. Stiff the Imperial, Columbus, S. C. He was City Manager for Publix theatres in Asheville, S. C., Memphis, Tenn., and Houston, Tex. From Houston, he was transferred to Dallas as District Manager of the Texas Central Division, where he remained ever a year until his present appointment. MR. DEMBOW'S WARNING ON “PASS” EVIL (Continued from page 1) the issuing of passes by those who have the authority to do so in each theatre. “However, the tendency is to issue passes as a custom rather than for a specific reason. Passes represent actual merchandise and should be so regarded. Furthermore, when once a person has had a theatre-pass, he’ll spend endless time and effort to get some more. He’ll spend twice the value of a theatre ticket in order to get a pass so he can show off to his friends. That’s the human part of it. Bvery friend he shows his pass to is promptly spoiled as a potential customer because he knows he’s ‘as good as the chap who got a pass.’ Thus the box office suffers from an endless and growing chain of anti-ticketbuyers. ‘Season passes should only be}. issued after the closest kind of scrutiny, and should be constantly re-checked to assure the theatre that the recipient is still in a position to be of service to the theatre. “It goes without saying that no one has any right to issue a pass for any.other reason except that the recipient has already done something valuable for the theatre or circuit, or is in an immediate position to do so and is willing. “Thus it-is that the most experienced showmen issue the least number of passes. Theatres that are successfully operated entirely by owners issue such a tiny number daily as to be almost unworthy of notice because they insist on getting the value of the pass every time they issue one. If you will acquire the ownershipspirit you’ll economize on passes as well as money expenditures. “No theatre should have a large number of quarterly or annual passes outstanding, and these ‘for him to be admitted free. should be looked over’ every month to see if the holders are still functioning for your benefit. You should be frankly selfish about passes to the extent of seeing that you get value received for them. “Trip passes should be issued AFTER you have: reeeived value for them. “Another thing that needs constant attention and vigilance is the gate-crasher. It is a common practice for gate-crashers’ to Fbrazenly and hurriedly elbow past the doorman, exclaiming ‘Daily Times’ or ‘Fire Department’ or ‘Health Commissioner.’ Doormen should stop and closely scrutinize all passes, and admit no-one without a pass. Anyone who claims importance and has no credentials should be referred to the manager. A person who is ligitimately entitled to enter the theatre should be willing to show proper credentials. The mere fact that a person is a newspaperman or a policeman is not sufficient reason New York City could fill all of the theatres in town at every performance with non-paying patrons, if badges were accepted in lieu. of passes.’’ FILL AND RETURN j-— QUESTIONNAIRES , AT ONCE! Herb Hayman, in charge of the Music Sales Dept., announces that only 25 per cent of all the questionnaires sent out by his department to every manager in the field have been returned. Inasmuch as it is absolutely essential for the proper functioning of his department to get every one of these questionnaires back at the earliest possible time ‘all managers who have not already done so are urged to. return them, properly filled out, to Mr. Hayman at once. ) ) | Schneider, | der, ‘a large num DANGERS IN USE OF MIKE BY AMATEURS Division Director Louis J. Schneider, in discussion with a eroup of district managers in his division recently, touched upon a most important point in theatre operation which PUBLIX OPINION ‘thinks will stand even more generous discussion by Mr, as well as other experienced theatremen. Mr. Sehneidiscussing the possible danger in the use of the office microphone by theatre managers for the purpose of making announcements, declared that ber of theatre managers are not fitted by experience or ability to make public addresses. He is convinced, he says, that before anyone attempts to make a personal appearance on the stage to “sell’’ a coming attraction, or to “sell” an audience anything thru a microphone, proper preparation be made. “The art of public speaking is not an easily acquired one,’’ Mr. Schneider points out. ‘An amateur speaker can. quickly kill his proposition by heming-andhawing over the subject, either thru the microphone, or as he stands before the audience in a spotlight. “There are numerous authoritative books on the subject in any public library, which every showman should earefully read before he essays a public speech. “Tt goes without saying that extemporaneous talks should be avoided. It is not necessary to write,out a long speech and read from it,—but in most cases it is advisable to do EXACTLY that when before the microphone, The best talks seem to be extemporaneous, but actually they are well planned and rehearsed. When before the public, the speaker has so many rules of etiquette and demeanor to observe that he should’ never make the attempt until he is entirely aware in advance of exactly what he is going to say, how he is going to say it, and how he will look while: saying it. Public speaking is a difficult art that requires studysand practice to master. “No showman should endanger his coming attraction by permitting his mistaken sense of courage or his vanity to lead him into a public address unless he is thoroughly prepared to make the kind of audience impression that will have a most favorable audience-reaction.”’ “The first purpose of announcement by microphone, or personal appearance, is to more effectively sell your coming attraction than would be possible in a-trailer. If a trailer does it better for you than you can do it orally, then by all means let the trailer do the talking.” Louis J, Schneider NOT SCOTCH Ben Black, the noted stage-band leader and musician whose good nature and friendliness ranks him high in the affection of everyone who knows him, sends PUBLIX OPINION a laugh for the circuit, from New Orleans. The Saenger theatre played the Robert Benchley movietone, which is exceptionally lifelike. The-next day a letter was received at the theatre, addressed to Mr. Benchley, from a local restaurant, asking him to come in and have dinner on the house!!