Publix Opinion (Dec 27, 1929)

; 7 * 3 7 . ” SerhEtehc lL ety aE ee Ak eS lh ee PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF DECEMBER 27ru, 1929 Paramount-Publix radio hour night, December 28th, at 10 o’clock (Eastern Standard Time) by the Columbia Broadcasting System. Paris, London,. New York, Chicago and Hollywood are to exchange greetings in this hook-up, one of the most extensive ever attempted, and which is made possible through the utilization of telephone, wireless telephone and radio. Atmospheric conditions permitting, the scheme is this. Players in the Plaza Theatre, London and Le Paramount Theatre in Paris will talk over telephone wires to a point on the English coast where the message will be transmitted across the Atlantic by low wave length to the United States. From a point on the Eastern coast of America the messages will be relayed to Station WABC, New York, and thence broadcast to the world through the sixty associated stations of the Columbia System. Contact with the main station will be made by telephone a few minutes later from the Paramount Theatre in New York, the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago and the Paramount studio in Hollywood, thus completing a series of greetings from Paramount extending nearly -half around the world. The feat, if successful, will eclipse the record made by Columbia engineers last September when Maurice Chevalier, seated in a dressing room of the Paramount Theatre in Paris, extended greetings to an American radio audience. Among the stars in Hollywood who will give messages from the Paramount studio are George Bancroft, Charles ‘‘Buddy’’ Rogers, Mary Brian, Jeanette MacDonald, Clive Brook, Fredric March, Jack Oakie and Neil Hamilton. Those who will extend greetings from London and Paris are: Stanley Lupino, well known Eng lish comedian, speaking from the. Plaza Theatre, London, and M. Saint Granier, French stage favyorite, speaking from the Paramount Theatre in Paris. The international feature of the broadcast will be in addition to the regular weekly program emanating from the Paramount-Publix Playhouse, the de luxe theatre of the air, in which Paul Ash will present a musical novelty, ‘The Holiday Express.’’ Popular radio artists who will make up this revue are David Mendoza, — Jesse Crawford, Paul Small, Dorothy Adams, the Paramount Four, Veronica Wiggins, Fred Vettel and others. John S.. Carlile, head of Paramount’s radio department, will be the announcer. TRAINED STAFF PROVES WORTH The wisdom of Publix’ policy of having perfectly trained service staffs was again proven by records established in the Rivoli: Theatre in New York during the first week of the run of ‘“‘Taming of the Shrew.”’ During that week, 71,468 patrons were taken care of. This means an average of 10,210 a day, 510 for each usher. Without a staff not only well trained but alive to its responsibility, this sort of service would have been impossible. It has been estimated that a delay of two minutes per show in this house means one turnover less. = Bathing Beauty Contest During Christmas Slump! An unusual part of the Christmas campaign run by Marsline Moore, manager of the Worth ‘Theatre of Fort Worth, Texas, was a Winter Bathing Beauty Contest sponsored by the local press. ) ‘mas celebration and theatre an INTERNATIONAL RADIO HOOK-UP WILL SALUTE THE NEW YEAR A salute to the new year, international in scope, coming from five different points of the globe, and covering a distance of approximately 7000 miles, will be the high spot of the regular to be broadcast on Saturday PUT EM OUT! Arrival of talkers, which brought the hope that chattering customers would hereafter. be silenced during performances, seems only to have caused picture fans to jabber more fiendishly. IIlustration of how this rule is ignored was an incident in a Broadway picture house. Three men, hats in hand, seated together, kept talking away with gusto until a patron in front called an usher saying: ‘‘Can’t you, please, make them stop. I can’t hear the picture.” “Sh!” . said the usher, “they’re the bosses of this theatre.”’ —(Variety). HOUSE ANNIVERSARY, HELPED CHRISTMAS BOX OFFICE Word of a combination Christ niversary came from Manager Al Fourmet and Publicity Director Ray Allison of the Texas Theatre, San Antonio, Texas. Exploitation plans provided for an Atwater Kent Radio Show in| the mezzanine and a special newspaper section on the same. Printed matter which included 25,000 stickers on Atwater Kent monthly statements, 3,000 four page pamphlets and 3,000 auto stickers, was distributed to advertise the show. In addition to all this, there was a birthday cake in the lobby, eight smaller cakes in window displays about town, a_ special street lighting unit installed in the theatre square by the Public Service Corporation, a parody contest on songs conducted by the organist with a $200.00 Atwater Kent Radio as a prize. There were also the usual “Shop and Mail Early’ post office tie-up, radio broadcasts, special decorations, and special trailers. VARIETY CARRIES FAMOUS MUSIC AD In the December 18th issue of “Variety,” a full page is given over to the advertisement of the Famous Music Corporation, the Paramount and Publix affiliate. Three song hits from the latest Paramount pictures are featured: ““Sweeter than Sweet’ from “Sweetie,’ and ‘‘Dream Lover’’ and ‘‘My Love Parade” from ‘‘The Love Parade.”’ Free Ad Material For “Pointed Heels’ Song Hits Spier & Coslow, Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, and representatives in the principal cities, has available for distribution to Publix theaters a quantity of cover sheets, window banners, slides, and orchestrations, for the purpose of exploiting “I Have to Have You,’ one of the two hit tunes in ‘‘Pointed Heels.”’ Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., 1567 Broadway, New York, and branch offices throughout the United States, also has available a large supply of advertising material, for “Ain’tcha,” the other song hit in the picture. SELLING POSTER! This 40 by 60 enlargement of the various means used to sell “The Love Parade” in New York is being sent out of town to all Publix theatres that play this picture. That these selling means, directed by . Jack McInerney, Publicity Director of the Criterion Theatre, were effective is evidenced by the fact that the picture, in its third week, broke every existing record of the house. Lobby Christmas Tree Helps Exploit Pictures Did you play Santa Claus to your community? Ted Emerson of the Strand Theatre of Des Moines did—nhere’s how. A twelve foot Christmas tree was erected in the inner lobby two weeks before Christmas. This tree was decorated with ornaments, cut-outs ete., representing attractions that the Strand Theatre patrons will enjoy during the coming year. An attractive framed ecard one-sheet size was placed on an easel beside the tree and carried the following copy, “The Strand’s Gift to Des Moines for the Year 1930.” Jeanette MacDonald To Make Victor Records Jeanette MacDonald, the featured player in Maurice Chevalier’s latest success, “The Love Parade,’ has signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company as an exclusive phonoeraph recording artist. Miss MacDonald’s first recording will be that of ‘““Dream Lover,’’ the hit song in ‘The Love Parade.” Publix theatre managers should capitalize on Miss MacDonald’s phonograph connection by an ex ploitation tie-up with Victor dealers. Harold Lloyd Dummy Planted on Building Anxious to get people to read a huge banner advertising ‘‘Welcome Danger’ which was fastened to the side of a building, Manager E. E. Collins of the Publix-Kirby Theatre of Houston, Texas, perched a dummy of Lloyd on top| of a twelve story building. NEW INDIANA THEATRE The operation of the Princess Theatre, New Castle, Indiana, has been taken over by Publix and will be under the supervision of Arthur Mayer; Edw. Saether, division manager and W. B. Lloyd, district manager. WARNS AGAINST ABUSE OF TRAILERS “The abuse of trailers can work to the detriment of the theatre and ‘performance,’ declared Division Director Milton H. Feld in a message to managers warning them to exercise the utmost care in the preparation of all screen messages to the public. “On recent visits to the theatres,’’ his message stated, “I have noticed an over use of trailers. In addition to the trailers on coming attractions there have been trailers attempting to sell many other ideas and institutional features. Bear in mind that you are asking the public to give up time and attention to read your message. They have already paid you to be ‘entertained during this period. “Tikewise, you are asking them to carry messages in their minds. If you ask them to carry a multitude of messages, none will definitely remain.”’ “The sereen trailer is the best means of reaching a public that has: already been sold by you. There is no method of merchandising that can be so effectively used or has any greater value. But it is necessary to analyze your show. Make eertain that you have not. over-used them and that ‘the manner in which you spot ‘your trailers does not cause a let down in the entertainment value ‘of your program.” SHOP EARLY PLAN WINS FREE SPACE Takine the tip advanced by PUBLIX OPINION, the LincolnDixie Theatre and the Washington | Theatre of Chicago Heights, IIL, sponsored a Shop-EHarly-Mail-Early page in the local newspaper and |in addition placed a long story in the paper on the mail early message to be delivered from the screens of all Publix houses. The theatres got a strip full page depth in which they were, able to advertise all their pictures from December 6th through December 24th. Seven merchants contributed to make up the page but the two. theatres had for themselves as much space as all the merchants together. An example of good publicity work is to be found in the story planted with the paper in that all nine of the attractions to be played at the theatres were listed. Bank.” JANUARY 17—23. a \ | ) FOR THRIFT WEEK Banks sell Christmas Clubs to their patrons every year. Taking advantage of this, the Publix-Baalaban and Katz organization had 300 cards (specimen below) printed and distributed to all the banks of Chicago. A check showed that 90 per cent. had been hung in prominent places in the banks within two days. The card bore the following inscription, “Every Year I Join the Christmas Savings Club at My Under this appeared a picture of Buddy Rogers, the title “Half Way to Heaven” and the theatre name and playdate. reproduced below accompanied the poster. THIS STUNT SHOULD PROVE USEFUL FOR. THRIFT WEEK The letter (| | ‘(EVERY YEAR I JOIN \ THE CHRISTMAS SAVINGS CLUB AT MY BANK’ | 1 CHARLES ‘BUDDY’ ROGERS Star of the All-Talking Screen’ Romance “HALF WAY TO HEAVEN” | At The CHICAGO THEATER o.cztitia :