Publix Opinion (May 9, 1930)

8 MUSIC COVERED! IN DISTRICT SESSION District managers convened in New York were kept busy noting services of the Music Department at a meeting addressed by Sam Shayon, Executive Assistant toe Boris Morros, in the absence of the General Music Director on the Coast. Activities of the Music Sales Division and Music Novelties Department, both under the supervision of Mr. Morros, were covered in talks by Mack Stark and E. H. Kleinert, respective heads of those divisions, and are reported elsewhere in this issue. Maurice Lawrence, in charge of the de partment’s overture group, also participated in the meeting. Materials with which the Music Department is organized to supply the theatres, Shayon said, include overtures, special presentation scores, band _ specialties, radio arrangements, printed orchestrations, organ novelties, musical novelties on film, synchronized holiday trailers, 33 1/3 r. p. m. overture-exit records, and synchronized trailer strips. Five latter are a part of Music Novelties Department service, Complete catalogs of the overtures, band specialties, overtureexit records, organ novelties and trailer strips are available. Overtures. are both production and straight orchestral, and are sent out complete with advice sheets, lighting -and production plots. Band specialties requiring special treatment are also accompanied by advice sheets and light plots, and organ novelties include complete cue sheets and slides. A charge of 20c¢ each is made for slides. Printed orchestrations of any published selection may be obtained. through the department’s library, which is in charge of Maurice Borodkin. Housés which have orchestras, Shayon said, should use them to the fullest extent possible without incurring overtime, to enliven programs. sic furnished by the department is intended for use with trailers and shorts, with orchestras playing introductions and endings, and where the subject permits, under, the action, — Band Numbers Band numbers, which are sent out regularly without requisition to all theatres with orchestras, should be added to libraries. Radio arrangements available are copies of special orchestrations successfully used on the Paramount Publix and former Brooklyn Paramount radio hours. “The Music Department also functions as a clearing-house for M. C.’s, musical directors, organists and lobby entertainers,”’ Shayon declared. ‘You district managers, as keen judges of personalities, will assist us if you will report encounters with any of the above who are not now in our employ, but whom you believe would measure up to Publix standards for such personalities.” The speaker suggested tying-in of orchestras and organists with live lobby activities, stressing the value of such contacts as bringing audiences of personalities closer together. Organ clubs, too, he said, are valuable in building organists. The Music Department will furnish material and data on organization of these upon request. In a discussion of union matters, Shayon urged the _ district managers to be sure that all con-. tracts with musicians’ locals were submitted to Boris Morros_ before being signed. ‘Our experience accumulated in dealings with hundreds of locals can undoubtedly be of assistance to you in formulating new contracts,’ he stated. Specific assistance which district managers could render to the Mugic Department, includes checking, cataloging and reporting all music libraries, used or unuse@\ and Special presentation mu-| theatre ! PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF MAY 9th, 1930 Know RAY L. NILES Ray L. Niles, District Manager supervising North Dakota, entered theatre served in Boe Aviaj a tion ection Ray L. Niles of the Signal t Corps, he took over a partnership Fraser Theatre, Spencer, Iowa, later acquiring a half interest in. and Unique the Metropolitan Theatres, Mitchell, S. D. Niles has also owned and managed: the Lyon in Rock Rapids, la. and the Iowa and Park Theatres in Spirit Lake, Iowa. He entered the employ of Publix-F. & R. in 1925 as City Manager of Mitchell, Ss. D., subsequently opening and managing the State, Sioux Falls; State, Minot, N. D., and the Chateau in Rochester, Minn. Niles was City Manager of Rochester theatres for two years. In September, 1929, he was appointed to his present post as District Manager. Niles is in New York at present, attending the current District Managers’ Session. HENRY SEEL A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Karlsruhe, )}G@ermany, lone of the ifirst to advo Fcate orches tral accompaniment of motion pictures. Unable to .interest exhibitors, he became one himself, opening the Elite,’ 271 iseat house, in ‘Pensacola, Ee) Fla., in 1909. -=|He was manee jagcer, musical =} director, pub licity direc tor, and sign artist when the exchange failed to enclose the one onesheet in the can. Projectionist, too, if necessary: Seel acted as manager and muSical director of the Bonita, Pensacola, from 1912 to 1917, under his own ownership, then the Fichtenberg Amusement Co. and finally the Saengers. From then on he served alternately as manager, musical director or organist, in. various theatres of the Saenger circuit, opening the million-dollar Strand in Shreveport as managing director and musical. director in 1925. He graduated from Barry’s .. Bay St. Louis Managers’ School in 1927. When sound replaced the Strand orchestra in 1928, Seel went to the Saenger, New Orleans, as guest conductor. He was assigned to his present post in Henry Seel Jackson in January, 1929. personnel and situations, Special Overtures Maurice Lawrence told the district managers that the Music De partment was always ready. to make up special overtures and organ novelties for individual theatres, if only notified sufficiently in |} advance. Urging closer cooperation between managers and musical directors, Lawrence contributed an unusual viewpoint to the session, out of his long experience as musical director in many theatres, and later as district and travelling musical advisor for Publix. “Managers should take an active interest in the musical portion of every program,’ Lawrence said, ‘“‘going over every detail with the leader in advance. He should exert supervision over every selection entering into the musical make-up of his program. The manager’s judgment in such matters is superior to the leader’s, for in the | —“MEET THE BOYS!”— | YOUR ORGANIZATIO GEORGE D. TYSON George D. Tyson, Director of ’ Publicity and assistant to Cullen Espy in the Peirsbdy ree — Skouras Indianapolis operations, prefaced his theatrical career with several years of newspaper experience. Rect r 12ing from “overseas in Te ds6 after serving with the Marines, Tyson graduated from the University of Texas and came to New (York City to take a course in journalism at Columbia University. First journalistic work was with the New York News Association, followed by a connection with International News. Service, managing the I. N. S. Southeastern Bureau in Atlanta. Newspaper and publicity work in Florida during the boom completed Tyson’s efforts in this line. His first theatrical connection was with Paramount as an exploitation representative. In 1926 Tyson’ was transferred to the Publix-Skouras theatres in St. Louis in a similar capacity. When Publix-Skouras' entered Indianapolis, Tyson was. appointed to his present position. George D. Tyson WILL R. WINCH Will R. Winch, manager of the Fair Theatre and City Manager of Amarillo, Tex., as well, isa nother Publix show ‘man who en tered the business with a newspaper backgr ound. town, and an interim as publisher of the Sapulpa Light, Sapulpa, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), Winch became press agent and assistant manager of the Orpheum in Kansas City. Four years later he opened the Orpheum Theatre in El Paso as manager, and later served as manager of Orpheum theatres in Logan, Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah. During the summers, while with the Orpheum circuit, Winch managed and publicized a number of amusement parks. AS partner and manager, Winch operated the Crystal and Wigwam theatres in Tl Paso, establishing Wigwams No. 1 and 2.in San Antonio in partnership with W. J. Lytle. In 1924 Winch merged his interests with Dent, and continued as manager of four theatres in El Paso until transferred in 1925 to Amarillo as city manager. Winch con Will R. Winch tinued in this capacity after the Dent theatres merged with PubLimes HARVEY ARLINGTON Harvey ‘Doc’ Arlington Munice, Ind., City Manager, has been connec ted with var ious forms of the -amuse Fment busi ‘ness for fifty operators amuse ment parks and riding devices, and handled the affairs of this company in different parks in the Central States for eight years. Following this connection . Arlington did publicity for Kennywood and Luna, famous parks in Pittsburgh, j handling advance work of road shows during the winters. After two summers managing Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio, Arlington opened Younstown’s first ten cent vaude house. Going to New Castle, Pa., nee lington” Managed the. Cascade, an old upstairs vaudeville house, for the Warner Bros. He joined the Butterfield circuit in Michigan in 1911, and after another summer in the carnival business, went to Grand Rapids for Consolidated Theatres, Inc., and remained there 14 years. In 1926 Arlington joined Fitzpatrick-Mec Elroy, later going to Muncie, where he remained after complete affiliation with Publix as City Manager of the three theatres there, with headquarters at the Rivoli. Harvey Arlington THOMAS H. JAMES Thomas’ H. James, appointed manager of the newly acquired Regent Theatre, Norwalk, Conn., started in the show business in New Orleans. A. North Car+ Clg Sn lah als bees om a bee James was educated in Atlanta and immediately went to work with the old General Film Co. as booker, and later as salesman on the rr O7a-di, Then . James became Mmanager of Universal’s exchange at Memphis, Tenn. : James entered operating with Loew’s, as manager of the Lyceum, Memphis, and subsequently managed the Bijou, Birmingham, and the Grand and Capitol in Atlanta. The connection extended over a period of 11 years. if He came with Publix in August, 1929, and after a short stay at the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn, went to Montgomery, Ala., as acting city manager. James’ next assignment with Publix was the Scollay Square, Boston, whence he was transferred to the Norwalk operation on April 21st to open it under the Publix regime. Thomas H. James the former is in a position to get the reaction of his audience to every type of music.’’ Lawrence pointed out the value of having musical directors and organists present at all screenings, | not only as a means of insuring suitable musical preparation, but to contribute a trained musical ear as an assistance in making up fader cue-sheets. BOTSFORD HITS PUBLICITY WASTE (Continued from Page Seven) prints have been sent to each district manager, Other available trailers include a synchronized version of the refrigeration trailer, “Why Crowds Leave Home,” and a trailer made by Buddy Rogers for use in opening newly constructed theatres. Max Fleischer has made a cartoon anniversary trailer and a three-minute cartoon silence trailer. Latter was described by Mr. Botsford as a complete unit of entertainment in _ itself. A scenic refrigeration trailer, synchronized, will be ready within two weeks. Clean Advertising Vivian Moses, supervising Second Quarter Profit-Drive activities, urged keeping special campaigns in the background. Touching on salacious advertising, Moses predicted that within the next few months the entire industry would follow Publix in its campaign for clean advertising. “Let’s be human,’ Moses said, “let’s keep this show business merry and bright, but let’s be clean. In self defense, don’t slip into any suggestion of dirty advertising. Any temporary advantage for which your managers may strive is far off-set by the lasting damage done to the industry.’’ John F. Barry announced that a later meeting would be devoted solely to Publix Opinion. HOW TO SPEED REAL ESTATE ACTION Theo. C. Young, Director of the Paramount Publix Real Estate Department, told. district managers assembled at the home office |that quicker action in realty mat ters could be obtained by getting directly in touch with their district real estate offices, in addition to mentioning the matter in weekly reports. Young gave the field executives a graphic picture of his department’s organization. Much of the portion of the meeting over which he presided was devoted to a discussion of closed theatres and their disposition. Other executives of the department who spoke were Fred V. Greene, Jr., Edward J. Wall, E. H. Ericsson, W. H. Lawrence, C. J. Powell and Al len Rogers. Reports Requested Greene, who is in charge of the department’s bureau of survey and investigation, asked the district managers to report new hotels, factories, theatres, etc., in all cities within their districts, whether Publix situations or not. This information is necessary to keep data in home office files up-todate. He discussed city information reports and theatre surveys in detail with the men present. Acquisition of going theatres, and development of new theatre pro /positions, were covered by Wall, head of the bureau of negotiations. Ericsson, who. supervises the division of property management and operating accounting, detailed the procedure of rent payments and collections, and payment of taxes. Lawrence, in charge of the bureau ~ of leases and records, described the book records which are kept on each individual piece of property or leasehold. Desirable Tenants C. J. Powell, who spoke on rent g, stated that good tenants, from our viewpoint, were those which create a good atmosphere, have attractive, well-lighted windows, etc., such as specialty shops. He characterized restaurants, radio stores, or any establishments from which odors or noise may emanate, as undesirable tenants. All tenants occupy the premises on written leases, he said, stressing the fact that there are no _ verbal agreements. In procuring tenants for commercial areas, he said, we are quite. willing to enlist the services of realtors, but prefer to pay a lump commission and collect our own rents rather than have the broker collect rents and deduct a monthly commission. Allen Rogers, maintenance engineer, told the district managers that the usual lease obligated the landlord to make repairs on the © exterior and roof of a building,’ and the theatre to maintain the interior. Definite responsibility should /be ascertained, he said, be fore instituting major repairs. MANUAL READY ON CANDY SALES A managers’ candy sales manual has been prepared to assist in deriving maximum results from new installations, M. Schosberg told the district managers’ group at the home office last week. Head of the candy sales department and . his associate, Bruce Powell, went over the points covered in the manual in detail with the field executives. Good locations for vending machines are the best means of assuring good returns, Schosberg said, in asking the district managers to make note of the locations accorded the machines in their theatres. District Manager A. J. Moreau told of experiments at the Strand, Portland, Me., where use of a flasher button and baby spot doubled receipts. Powell stated that flasher buttons have been made standard equipment, and_ that managers should insist that Pack Shops include them in the installations.