Publix Opinion (Feb 7, 1930)

TARE INC Set ig eR ISIE I RT EE a. lounge. AID GROSS (Continued from. Page One) in the music booth which plays incessantly from opening to close. That, however, is only the start of the circus. No matter what one finds melody in the grand lobby. Begin with Radio From opening until two o’clock a radio, located on the grand staircase, provides anything from symphony concerts to “blues.’”? When the doors open, the popular Hlsie Thompson starts a two hour piano the music being amplified throughout the lobby. In the grand lounge another radio plays. If one gets tired of the music, one may wander over to a Postal Typing Telegraph machine and watch its operation as it sends messages to any part of Brooklyn for twenty cents. Perhaps you would like to have a sketch of yourself? Dorothy Dwin, lightning sketch artist, attends to that. She draws an average of two hundred sketches from life daily, meeting the_ patrons after each stage show. _ Community Singing | At seven in the evening, Frankie Judnick, talented accordionist, comes into the grand lobby. Frankie has developed a commu anxious are patrons to sing with Frankie that they are never heard complaining about waiting | for seats. Doubling with Frankie on Saturdays and Sundays is a singing usher whose war tenes stimulates the sales of sheet music. When not entertained in the grand lobby, Frankie is found playing his accordion in the The world famous Coney Island is in Brooklyn. But when it comes to entertainment Coney Island never had anything on the Brooklyn Paramount. They’re giving half a dozen or more sideshows pefore the big show in much the game manner the Ringling Brothers entertain. the various Ringling Brothers side show attractions before taking a seat under the big top. P. T. Barnum originated that idea of always giving his patrons something to look at. | No one will deny that sees Oe Barnum had the right idea. Boston Campaign High spots of the live lobby campaign outlined by Manager time of the afternoon or evening, | concert from the grand staircase, nity singing idea all his own. So One always visits — E= =i ies Q THE ATRE N F IN D yA ALIA PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF FEBRUARY 71H, 1930 ‘BUILD UP’ WITH SHORTS! | by William M. Saal General Director of Film Buying and Booking The theatre manager should have in front of him a list of all sound short subjects made by all companies. This information can be obtained from any of the trade papers. You also can write to your district booker for this information, and if he does not give it te you immediately, get in touch with me. j If there is more than one Publix theatre in a situation, certainly one of these houses should specialize in short subject programs, particularly if the other house is running long features, such as Gold Diggers of Broadway, Show of Shows, etc., that do not lend themselves to short subjects. Color plays an important part on the theatre programs. There are any number of very fine color shorts from the various companies. You can get a list of these from your district booker. If you are running a dramatic feature, certainly a Tiffany color art or a revue might be just the thing to give your program some color. When you have a revue type of feature booked, and there has been an abundance of them lately, subject is just the thing to round out your program. In a number of our smaller theatres, on the Saturday change or Thursday to Saturday change, the vaudeville type of act plays an important part on their programs. In fact, these theatres build up a fine clientele with this type of short. I admonish every showman not to depend on anyone Get it yourself. It is available if you will exercise your initiative. press your personality on your program. ae : You must learn the climaxing routine of short programs—how to open and how to close. No one in the Home Office can set up your program. They can only send. it to you and its routine is your particular problem. You get your short subject program at least three weeks in advance. If anything is wrong, get in touch with your district booker immediately. Don’t accept a bad short subject any more readily than you would accept a bad feature. Under no condition accept one that will not blend with the rest of your program. In selling your short subjects, don’t be content with merely announcing its title and cast. Make your ad descriptive, so your patrons will be anxious to come and see it. Frequently you will have a short subject that should be advertised forcefully, and in such cases you may need to increase your current advertising budget. This can be done easily, through the proper channels. For example, if you have a Ruth Etting subject, don’t just advertise “Ruth Etting in such-and-such a short.” Make your ad identify her as a a Columbia recording artist. Another example is any short by Laurel & Hardy, kings of comedy featured jn the Hollywood Revue. Your ads must tell the public who the stars of your short subjects are and what they have done. Don’t merely mention names. Some of the greatest numbers Vitaphone ever made were the Martinelli subjects. These proved that acts of high type attract new patrons and are well received by audiences. District bookers, with the co-operation of district managers, should arrange weekly screenings of shorts. If possible, theatre managers should be present and in this way ‘district bookers will be given an accurate idea about local problems, insofar as shorts are con~cerned. District advertising men also should attend these screenings, since proper sale of shorts to the public through newspapers assures profits. a District managers, district bookers, district advertising men and theatre managers should tackle the matter of short subjects collectively. a two reel dramatic It is up to you to im eer rT SS hi Lawrence I. Bearg of the Metropolitan in Boston are as Maynard Sporting Goods firm, PUBLIX IN AURORA for the appearance of a professional golfer in the lobby of the theatre, to give eee ls instructions to patrons. new theatre in SAL, SUGGESTS snc ATTENTION 10 SHORTS (Continued from Page One) proper relation to all other associated items of entertainment on follows: A Fashion Parade, sponsored by the Jordan Marsh Department Store will be on display in the grand lounge of the theatre, every Monday afternoon and evening, at no cost to theatre. Live mannequins will participate in these parades. The distribution of 100,000 ‘heralds with prominent-mention to theatre and attractions, will be handled by the department store. An usher, having an excellent voice and pleasing personality, will entertain in the lobby while attired in his uni Aurora, be announced later. Lexington, Kentucky. satisfactory, one. form. the programs. THURSDAY, JAN. 9, 1920. Arrangements are being All necessary cooperation is now completed with the Draper Z| available to advertising MeCN, | J... ssammscsesnuenntieiinn bookers, and managers. The rest | = if VUE UU COREE TE provides courtesy spnmnannnnnonnnnnon nuns) a0 STUDY THIS — EVERYBODY! arvensis Re A i 3 comfort ser~ usher vice and always WITH A SMILE’ d is a matter of individual initiative. Executives of the home office are checking up on all activities in connection with shorts, and Mr. Katz will have before him a weekly resume of what is being done, and by whom, and what is not being done, and also by whom. “The real balance that makes the difference between a weekly profit or loss in the theatre is as much in the proper use of short subjects as it is in the feature picture itself. A properly laid out program of entertainment that has been energetically’ and intelligentlly sold to prospective theatre-goers reveals its drawing power divided up, on the average, as 60% for the feature and about 40% for the customary five other short attractions. Sometimes the figure is more than 8% for a specific short, and sometimes it is less, depend| ing upon the comparative value of ‘the other short units of the program. <e “Ag goon as all Publix theatres are functioning in the manner Mr. Katz expects, through proper pressure on short subject policy, we will find that each theatre is turn-| ing in the kind of profit that the resources of Publix deserve. “The whole problem starts with every interested person collecting every possible scrap of advance information, and organizing it in a readily usable manner. This information is obtainable from PUBLIX OPIINON, from stories and ads in trade papers and. magazines, from film exchanges, and thru Publix organizational channels. CMUTUUTU EU CCE During the Showing of” Taming 'of the Shrew : . | wo tickets will be given by the | atre to each person SEVERN PAT vy to give you information. su former Ziegfeld Follies star and ~ UT (lz I ; Culminating negotiations conducted by Divisional Director J. J. Publix has acquired a Tllinois. it will probably be called the Paramount, and details regarding its opening as will ANOTHER PAGE AD GRATIS A tie-up with the circulation department obtained this free page ad for Manager Earl Hall Payne of the Publix Kentucky Theatre in The newspaper, of course, pays for the tickets. The predominance of the attraction copy in this advertisement is a THE LEXINGTON HERALD” Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday ROW AN HONORED Gls = = _ —_ er =| ce Ae Z, ea = Zz. fem ges STUNS BY ITS | POWER (Continued from Page One) the newest giant among male actors of the screen, and Lillian Roth, musical comedy ingenue who has but lately come to the sereen is now destined to be a vivid and desirable character that every man will love. The entire picture is in the newest develop— ment of technicolor. You find — yourself at the end of the picture, ~ summing up as no attraction has — ever made you do. You tell your self that here is a vagabond lover, whose poet soul is more — real than any radio crooners — You tell yourself that yourself that here is stark drama and tender romance as it has never been portrayed. You'll say that those towering choral .effects, when the inspired, drunken rabble go flam. ing off in song to die for a tyrant king is a tribute to Rudolph Friml’s musical genuis that no = «omposer ever equalled in all © musical literature. Ludwig Ber~ ger, himself a playwright and composer of note, who was — brought here a year ago from Germany, directed it with all the fine feeling he put into many of the Reinhardt productions which he was associated with for years. ‘ Publix Opinion ventures to — _ predict that the picture will ~ “open” everywhere to record— breaking business, and instantly —~ ‘build’ from word-of-mouth ad| vertising aS no attraction has — ever done before. 4 Mr. Katz called it the greatest — masterpiece of the film industry's ~ history. It is all of that. It is so great that even with its historical and costume background, and bearded characters, it “will upset all ‘‘costume play”’ tradition. In selling “The Vagabond (Continued on Page Four) Contest RULES: Opposite each'motic ied below January 1th to 14th Inclusive