Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

Page 34 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW June 3, 1939 Make Your Theatre Tops July 4 with Showmanship Combine Coolness With Excellent Entertainment In Your Bid for Crowds Go TO vour local weather forecaster right now and see if he can determine what the weather will be on July 4. If he says it's going to rain cats and dogs all day, then you'll know your theatre has a chance to "get the patronage of those who may have ventured out in the weather manufactured by Jupiter Pluvius. And even if he says the sun will shine all day, you still have a chance to hold your own if you plan now in that direction. Rain or shine — who cares? Well, you might have cared years ago when you found it almost impossible to compete against fireworks and other outdoor amusements with your hot, stufify house. But it's different to. day... With your comfortable, cool theatre and a good attraction, j'ou can devise a means of making Independence Day a day of outstanding attendance. Increase Prices on Holiday A holiday generally means that you can increase your admission prices, and though the day's receipts as far as the number of patrons are concerned might fall off slightly with the exodus of residents to the sea shore, countryside and other vacation resorts, you still have a mighty good chance to come out on top in dollars and cents because of the admission increase. While we realize that the attractions you'll book will have an important bearing on your patronage (we'll discuss this a little later on), we also are cognizant of something else which will count for just as much: your cooling system and the way you advertise it. Unless the summer of 1939 follows the freakish trend of 1816, the year in which there was no summer (remember?), you can count on it being hotter than blazes outside. A lot of folk will seek escape from the torrid temperature, and they'll head right for your theatre — the place they'll know will give them relief because they've read about it in the ads. And when we say relief, we mean relief from the heat. So, in all your advertising, which includes your programs, trailers, poster displays, newspaper ads, etc., let it be known that there isn't a cooler resort in your neck of the woods than your theatre. Be careful, however, that you don't concentrate too much on coolness and permit a mediocre attraction to rear its ugly head on your screen. Fine Patriotic Shorts Available Your policy will dictate whether you run one feature and short subjects, or two features. Because there will be some mighty fine patriotic short subjects available, we believe you'd be wise to arrange your program to include a high quality feature, plus a patriotic short subject, a good cartoon, perhaps a travelogue, or some other novelty reel, and the newsreel. By advertising the entire program, surely you will benefit just as much or perhaps more than you would if you ran two features, one of which may be mediocre. As far as we can determine, here are a few of the patriotic shorts, any one of which you may be able to book for Independence Day if you get your request in at the proper exchange immediately: "Declara tion of Independence" (Vitaphone) ; "Sons of Liberty" (Vitaphone) ; "Patriotic Songs" (a Community Sing released last year by Columbia); and "The March of Freedom," (now available from Universal). Two short subjects were released a couple of years ago which you may be able to book. They are MGM's "Servant of the People" and Vitaphone's "Give Me Liberty." Unless you have already played any or all of these short subjects, it would be wise to screen as many privately as possible, and then make your selection. That noise you'll hear outside on July 4th will be firecrackers exploding. You can help suppress it by keeping your doors closed all day. Thus you'll keep out not only the pandemonium and undesirable odor of firecracker smoke, but the heat as well. In this connection you should appeal to old folk and mothers who fear for the safety of their children that the nerve-wracking noise of the Independence Day celebration needn't bother them if they attend your theatre. The "Heights" of Exploitation Flere arc the highlights of Lester Pollock's campaign on the Samuel Goldwyn-United Artists film, "IVuthering Heights" from a photographic standpoint. (Top) a department store zvindow in conjunction with Vogue Hats ; (Center) Manson News Agency trucks carried posters a week prior to playdate ; (Bottom) O'ne of the best downtozvn stove and refrigerator stores in Rochester, N. Y., devoted a ivindow to a tieup on the film. Les is manager of Loew's Rochester — as though you zvho have seen his fine work didn't knoiv! where they'll see an excellent program in cool and comfortable suroundings. Find out what the authorities are doing. Perhaps they plan to recommend a Safe and Sane Fourth, a recommendation to which you can tie up in your newspaper ads by announcing that the safest and sanest way to spend the Fourth is in your theatre. Flags and bunting appropriate to the occasion should be displayed on the outside of the theatre. The company from which you get your trailer service will probably be able to furnish you with a patriotic trailer. Write them today for details. Sound Truck Street Ballyhoo Don't pass up the people at the beaches or at other outdoor resorts. A sound truck with copy advertising your attraction should be driven around the resorts as much as possible. Have the announcer spiel something to the effect that after a few hours in the hot summer sun there's nothing so cool, refreshing and restful as a visit to your theatre. If there is to be a fireworks celebration at night, be ingenious and arrange an electrically lighted sign near the scene of the celebration apprising the onlookers that they can still see a full show following the pyrotechnics display. Bear in mind that only if your theatre is healthfully cool and comfortable and you are playing worthwhile attractions can you expect to lure people into your theatre on Independence Day. By adding a few of your own ideas to those we've given here, there's no reason why the Fourth shouldn't stack up as a good day as far as grosses are concerned. "Idiot's Delight" Gets Off to Big Start Following Splendid Campaign A campaign staged by Everett Callow, in charge of publicity and advertising for Stanley-Warner Theatres, and Stanley Benford, Manager of the Boyd Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa., prepared a splendid promotional campaign for the engagement of "Idiot's Delight" at the Boyd. From the press department of legitimate theatres they obtained a mailing list of approximately 10,000 names, and post cards were sent to these people. A week in advance letters were sent to the A-Iotion Picture Chairmen of three important women's organizations in and near the city. For the "boy and girl" element, a tieup was effected with a baking company whereby 100,000 circulars were distributed, 3000 window streamers displayed in store windows and 150 trucks bannered. With the cooperation of the United News Company and the Fawcett Publications 1,500 cards were placed on newsstands and in store windows, and the News Company's 60 trucks were bannered. The cards were furnished by Fawcett Publications. So effective was the campaign that the fihn got off to an excellent start. Trimble Theatre Prepares Giant Newspaper Herald on "Castles" How a theatre in a medium-sized _ town can start the exploitation fireworks via the printing presses is exemplified in a smashing newspaper-sized fhrowaway put out for "The Storv of Vernon and Irene Castle" by the Trimble Theatre, Mt, Sterling, Ky., one of the chain of houses operated by the Elliott-War Circuit, Lexington, Ky. The Tri)uhle Theatre Ncivs had all the earmarks of a big-city daily. From pressbook stories and illustrations, a lively, eightcolumn four-page publication was made up for community distribution. The cost was carried by a series of three-column advertisements placed on the back page along with a pictorial theme story of the AstaireRogers show.