Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

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Page 60 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW June 3, 1939 , " ^' ''Wuthering Heights'' Gets IN THE EDITOR S MAIL BAG impressive N. Y. campaign Editor, Showmen's Trade Review : I received the material you sent me concerning Clean Theatres and rest rooms, and I appreciate very much this favor. I know I will be able to get a good many helpful ideas from this material you sent me in preparing my talk for our Convention. Very truly yours, (signed) /. P. Harrison, Mgr. Texas Theatre, Denton, Tex. days and Tuesdays v/e play our best pictures. The Sunday, Monday and Tuesday crowd like novelties, oddities, March of Time, news and sport shorts. The Friday and Saturday crowd likes slapstick, a good comedy when we can find one and sports and cartoons. I do not think that ten short subjects a year get us extra money. They are merely fillers. New York State exhibitor Editor, Showmen's Trade Review: There has, of course, been much comment on shorts taking the place of giveaways. But in our particular case we believe the giveaways bave the biggest draw, especially where it is actual cash being given away. In our opinion and experience shorts do not help to fill your house, for it is the feature which actually does the drawing. But shorts do help to make a more enjoyable program for the customer after he is in the house. However, the first consideration is to get the customer in the house and then take precautions to see that your program is so arranged as to please. Ideas on getting the customers to come in are actually what help business. West Virginia exhibitor Editor, Showmen's Trade Review : In a city like Chicago the only hope for the subsequent run houses is for the whole city to go "single feature". The double features have cut down the attendance. People who attended twice a week now are content to attend only once a week and many times as seldom as once in two weeks. If the aggregate attendance of the city was checked for one week now, against the same week three years ago when singles prevailed, you would find quite a difference in attendance, deducting, of course, a reasonable amount due to having Bank Nite three years ago. Chicago neighborhood theatre Editor, Showmen's Tr.^de Review: We play doubles on Fridays and Saturdays almost every week — sometimes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sundays, Mon Editor, Showmen's Trade Review: It comes to my mind . . . that this would be a good time to voice my one criticism of trailers. I watch them closely, of course, and I am impressed with the intelligence of the producers of these trailers that is mirrored in their finished product. I suggest, however, that they should not assume that the greater part of theatre audiences are as intelligent as they are and that they give special attention to the meaning of the picture title. For instance, take the trailer on "The Citadel". How I would have appreciated a flash of a page from a dictionary with the definition of this word ringed with pencil and a voice that definitely stressed the pronunciation of this word. My patrons ran me ragged for the definition and pronunciation. Indiana exhibitor Editor, Showmen's Trade Review : Wliat can we do to eliminate in the public mind the thought that every bill on which twc features appear is weaker than when a single feature is shown? . . . even if both of the features are so to speak Class "A"? Here in this city that idea is firmly fixed, not only in our theatre but in all the first runs. If we can devise some method of making John Q. Public believe that two features are given them for the entertaining qualities they possess and not because one is weak and the other only fair, then we will eliminate the bugaboo that is almost an obsession. From personal contact and from what our staff tells us, the great majority of the patrons want but one picture and some astutely selected shorts. They sit resignedly through double features but frequently we can tell from the phone calls our cashiers receive that they want the starting time of but one of the features on a double bill and discard the other entirely, although they could see it for the single price of admission. Kindest regards. Large Ohio city Window Devoted to "juarez" The Fifth Avenue zvindozv of the Singer Sewing Machine Company is devoted exclusively to a display of material from the Warner Brothers production, "Juarez^" now playing as a road show in New York. In the display is an original costume zvorn by Bette Davis in the picture. "Wrong Way" Stunts Highlight Campaign on "Flying Irishman" After the manner of Doug Corrigan's wrong-way flight to Ireland, Manager Harry Storin of the Paramount Theatre, Springfield, Mass., used a number of "wrong way" stunts in his big campaign on "The Flying Tishman." Reverse, wrong-way copy was used in part in newspaper advertising; title was spelled the wrong way on lobby posters; merchandise was placed upside down in store display. The house organist started to play the wrong way and then used verbal gags with the stunt, while the initial words in the radio plugs were read backwards. For St. Patrick's Day, Storin gave green carnations to the first one hundred feminine patrons, with compliments of Doug Corrigan. Cut-out boards in all the outer lobby doors were in the shape of shamrocks, painted green with white and gold lettering. Keyed to stress the importance of the picture, the exploitation, publicity and advertising campaign worked out by United Artists for the engagement of "Wuthering Heights" at the Rivoli, New York, was one of the most thorough drives engineered on any production in many years. With current women's fashions swinging back to the period covered in the film story, a wide channel was opened through which many department store tieups were effected. Equal stress was laid upon tieups stemming from the position held by this famous Emily Bronte novel as one of the world's literary classics. First among the exploitation tieups was arranged with Saks Fifth Avenue, in which they gave their best window to a display of the original wedding gown worn by Merle Oberon in the film. Inside the store four additional displays were devoted to other costumes. Miss Oberon did some personal shopping at the store and they took a 1,400-line ad in The New York Times announcing it, with credit to the picture. Further, they held an elaborate fashion show for the women's page editors of the metropolitan papers and syndicates to exhibit their adaptations of Miss Oberon's costumes. W. & J. Sloane, home furnishings house, made reproductions of the interior sets from the film for their Fifth Ave. windows. Attention was centered upon the literary classic angle of the motion picture story through tieups with Scribner's Sons, book publishers, in which they made up a display centering upon rare first editions of the Bronte Sisters' work's. Large size displays were placed in all city libraries, high schools and elementary schools as well as at Columbia University to popularize the novel, and windows were devoted to the popularpriced reprint editions of the book by the large chain drug stores. Many Unusual Angles Highlighted in the intensive publicity drive for the picture were many unusual angles that brought it to the attention of almost everyone who reads or listens to the radio. Topping the breaks were those arising from the visit of Miss Oberon, the star, and William Wyler, the director, to New York in advance of the opening. A cocktail party was given for them that drew nationwide attention when James Roosevelt poured tea for Miss Oberon. Both Miss Oberon and Mr. Wyler were interviewed by all New York newspapers and national news associations. The story of "Wuthering Heights" was forcefully brought home to more than 23,000,000 radio listeners when Miss Oberon appeared as guest star on the popular Kate Smith Hour in an effective dramatization of the film. Both the local and national advertising campaigns stressed the immortal love story of the novel, and how it had been brought to the screen. To bolster the engagements of the film in major cities throughout the country, an intense national ad campaign was used with full-page color insertions appearing in The American Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Life, Ladies' Home Journal, Cosmopolitan and McCall's. Tie-up Copy on Menus For "Down on the Farm," Manager R. Kennedy, of the Hamilton Theatre, Chicago, arranged to place on menus of local restaurants the following copy: "Our food is as wholesome as that 'Down on the Farm'. See the Jones Family in 'Down on the Farm', etc."