Publix Opinion (Nov 29, 1929)

Pe ee a oe ee 4 4 Let’s finish Publix’ greatest year by making December its greatest month! EXTRA! FAMMMNAVEDLONONODOUBEREDOEDORORHODROODOANONEE Vol. IIT = Fe UNSUEVEERAGENSROUGUUEOUGROGUAEDOEGOUOUDED: PTL eat PE yr TRSTES 3 : . SS ? = eS EERE z @ i S sveseevecenecneersseavesesanaovs ener agsooenaaneazsenest anaamenmensanconnener snes etonwnanen soegeenretyesLbENT HTM ILA NET TTERRgENTHALESaTOngsneRanbna nose mueo ne OResOBEDEERUFPEU EEE EOEEGDEEDECEUEGOEESAGPNABOONDENAOTSDNBOONEONS eSBESULODOORODDODEONOOSUOHOOODDNOEDSAOEDOADSODEDEIUOONONOUC mavens Dvn nnnenarD doa paDOOD TO DORN DTODUNEDERORONESRELIODODODUODUDOLADIDIINIIN Seevvennonnnnerensnesnus =) Publix Theatres Corporation, Paramount Building, New York, Week of N ovember 29th, 1929' SUATANAONODEVEEEEUOUEUEUEUEUENEWENRE ANUEOUNONTONBODONDORDOOOEQOENONNOANONOREDL! Let’s finish Publix’ greatest year by making December its greatest month! EXTRA! Z DOAUONGODOADOANAOPOOROEHOOROORGSUGERBRRODLE? No. 12 EQSRRHOROSURERGRGRERROAONERERO RED s POST OFFICE TIE-UP SET; (MON, PUBLIX! LET'S G0! Acting on the suggestion of David J, Chatkin, General Director of Theatre Management, Paramount Sound News has taken a news shot of the Postmaster General at Washington making a ' “Shop and Send Early” plea, thus clearing the way for the ava-| " lanche of theatre ballyhoo help from your local post master, as out ¥ lined in the last issue of PUBLIX OPINION. This shot will be delivered to you in your newsreel "issue of this week. In the newsreel shot, the Postmaster General is seated at his ‘desk against a background of “Shop and Send Early” tack cards. -He addresses the audience directly and asks them to _ lighten the burden of their fellow citizens by doing all their shop' ping and sending early. The postal official closes by wishing all a _ Merry Christmas. Get your last issue of PUBLIX OPINION and _ re-read carefully the post-office tie-up ‘story. All the details are contained there. The smart showmen have already made prelimi"nary preparations. With the news shot of the Postmaster General _ already made, you can now go to your local postmaster and show him how he can help carry out the wishes of his boss in your town by tieing in with you on the » SHOP AND SEND EARLY” campaign. He will grab at the chance and thank you for giving -him the opportunity to get in right with his boss. Ifyou haven’t started working "on it yet, REMEMBER THIS! mevOU DON’T START TOmeee it S «€6TOO: 6ULATE! Within the next ten days, the postal facilities will be swollen with the first Christmas sending. ‘Tt'will then be physically impossible for the mail men to deliver your heralds for you, and the lo' cal postmaster will be too busy to listen to you. NOW IS THE TIME! DO IT TO-DAY! MARY—DOUG OPENING! Broadway is looking. forward with keen expectation , to the New York opening of Mary Pickford and Douglas & Fairbanks in “The Taming » Of The Shrew” at the Rivoli Theatre tonight, (Nov. 29). , Many celebrities of the so‘cial, artistic and political # world will be seen at this special three dollar opening. The two stars themselves will be unable to be there inasmuch as they are now in Japan. After the opening, a hhidnight show will be given popular prices. SrrTercriic crt tt tt ‘LOVE PARADE? A RAVE! A brilliant and spontaneous fanfare of praise from every metropolitan critic greeted the opening of ‘“‘The Love Parade’? which registered another smashing suceess for Maurice Chevalier and Paramount Pictures. This, together with the enthusiasm of the first night audience has caused a “‘run’”’ on the box office of the Criterion Theatre which bids fair to boost this picture into the ‘‘Wings’’ class. The scintillating personality of the famous French ‘It’? man is sweeping everything before him. New York is simply wild about him! And how the fans went for Jeanette MacDonald! In the terminology of Broadway, the picture is already classified as a “rave!” SS See UE REESE ERES EEE SERRE SE EE Eee ae See Ea eae aE EERE eee eneauaenenaneneae=s a Van BUR ERR NESE RENEE EEE EE EEE EEE EEE BEBE EEBeBeaeaes | saeeeauanuan ABSSBAIGSSORACS Aaa eeeeseaee * PUBLIX BUILDING PLAN HITTING ON ALL SIX With eight new and reconstructed theatres to open within the next few months, and a number of others progressing rapidly in the course of construction, Publix building program is swinging lustily along in every section of this country and England. On Dec. 5th, the Paramount, New Haven, Conn., formerly the Olympia, will re-open following extensive reconstruction and redecoration.’ About the same time, the Paramount, Syracuse, formerly the Temple will open. This house has been almost completely renovated and will be one of the finest theatres of that section of the country. The theatre will be opened to the public on Dec. 6, following:a special invitation performance on Dec. 5. December Openings During the middle of December, the State Theatre, Anderson, Ind., a new theatre with 1,700 seats, is slated to open. This will be closely followed by the Tivoli Theatre, Aurora, Ill., which will seat about 1,100. The Seneca Theatre, Buffalo, a large neighborhood house seating 2,200, will open shortly after. The Paramount Theatre, Brainerd, Minn., seating | 900, is also slated for a De (Continued on Page Two) cumstances warrant. Your December Drive, however, is certainly warranted by the presence of two powerful factors. is the threatened “opposition” due to the public’s December money and time being monopolized by Christmas shopping. This is sufficient, if unopposed, to take away box office sup port for at least two weeks. portunity Publix has to furnish attention-shocking attractions of first magnitude, during every week in December. This has not been possible heretofore in December. With these two factors before you, sufficient reason 1s present to justify the December “drive month.” tion, the idea of diffusing the Christmas shopping rush over four weeks instead of two weeks, strikes a note of popular sympathy and appeal which enlists unlimited local influence in behalf of your enterprise. siders all these optimistic possibilities, the month of December then becomes a golden opportunity to accomplish what any red blooded person always seeks to do—engage in a test to determine whether or not the necessary degree of grit, confidence, salesmanship, showmanship, courage and intelligence is present to win a good, stiff fight. COLD REASO Mr. Katz has always been dubious about loosely organized and infirmly founded drives. Katz’ policy to foster an even distribution of effective effort and thought, stimulated only when sound reason and cir It has always been Mr. The first factor The second factor is the op In addi When a real showman con CIRCUIT 100 PERCENT READY(FOR SMASH ON BIG DECEMBER DRIVE William M. Saal, Director of Film Buying and Booking, calls Publix attention to ‘““Decemberosis,” a disease, with which he says |. four out of five “habit-slave showmen” are afflicted. “This is the first December in the history of the motion picture theatre that we are exhibiting “New Show World” or talking pictures in our theatres 100 per cent. Last year at this time, we only had one distributor’s product that was really 100 per cent talking—Warner Brothers. Paramount came just after the first of the year. Your selling of talkies was, therefore, limited. This year, however, you have a picture lineup that has never been equalled or ap proached at any time. “Mr. Katz launched the December Drive not only to stimulate but to stabilize our business in a month that is traditionally the worst in the year. The fundamental element remaining, that is necessary before proper results can be obtained, is individual initiative in attacking your problems. “The greatest single thing that everyone connected with our organization has to conquer first is the fear complex that has been. passed on to us from the vaudeville and legitimate theatre. Their (Continued on Page Two) | INDEX! | See Page 12 CRITERION HAS BEST N. Y. SOUND Publix superior showmanship is once. again. recognized in the award of a bronze plaque recently made by the Exhibitors HeraldWorld to the Criterion Theatre, Publix $2 house on Broadway, for being the best sound house in New York. In making the award, excellence of reproduction and acoustics were considered. The award by such a leading authority in the motion picture world, although certainly a tribute to the Western Electric Company for the equipment and installation, is particularly significant in that it shows Publix consistently leading the theatre operating industry, irrespective of what changes or. development that industry might undergo. Manager John Goring of. the Criterion Theatre, the Projection Department and its repre sentatives in the booth, the stage. hands and every member of the theatre staff that has anything to do with running the equipment have every reason to be proud of. the just reward for their efforts.. UAT DELUGE OF XMAS BOX-OFFICE AIDS! wn | HUNDREDS OF PRACTICAL IDEAS ARE. OFFERED Analyzing the returns on PUBLIX OPINION’S request for airmail-special delivery let-. ters suggesting box-office ideas» for December business, proved to be one of the biggest thrills the Home Office has had in many months. — eae Nearly every letter indicated a high degree of showmanship, and thinking. Practical things to do were the principal suggestions. Oddly enough, a unanimity on less than a dozen ideas prevailed. Good, sure-fire, tried-and-true plans that are rooted in successful experience, made up the bulk of replies received by Your Edi ‘tor. The best of these are given to you for consideration and ear-. ly application. You will find them on page 3 of this issue, in continuation of this story. The ideas given here represent only those that were received and analyzed up to November 22. Our deadline was November 29 for replies eligible in the awarding of thé sixteen gifts offered by PUBLIX OPINION. Therefore in our next issue, you'll get another pageful of those suggestions which in the judgment of the award committee, merit the prizes. A future issue will apprise the winners of result: of their contribution. This. judging committee is com-. posed of Messrs. Katz, Dem-_ “bow, Chatkin, Botsford and. Serkowich. | é Replies from the Home Office, from district offices and from the field, will be judged strictl on their merit in point of appli ' (Continued on Page Three) AUS Important! KE Don’t order any Christmas greeting trailers locally! A ‘special Christmas short sub-_ ject, with appropriate musical accompaniment, is being prepared by the music department and will be forwarded to all theatres. This, of course, must not be confused with December ‘Drive attractions trailers to. follow the newsreel shot of the postmaster general, hich should be made local = —4 = -— = — ‘—} = = =a =— =. = =: —— F———# = E 4 = i} il LW = =i