Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1941)

Page 32 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW December 6, 1941 Newsreels Held Vital Factor in Attracting Additional Patronage Widespread Interest in News Seen as Definite Indication Of Subjects* Selling Value Library Display Links Shorts, Short Stories PRESS BOOK ON 73 SHORTS A special press book on Paramount's current line-up of 73 short subjects is being sent to all accounts. Featured in the 20-page manual are tieups, publicity, promotion, ad mats, novelties, ballyhoo, posters, stills, and many ideas and stunts. On the inside back cover is a special pocket designed to contain the synopses of the shorts as they are received by the exhibitor from time to time. Composite Newsreels Encouraged Says 20th-Fox Short Subject Chief Composite newsreels consisting of the best of the news clips from three, four or all five of the semi-weekly issues of the newsreels are encouraged by the newsreel producer and distributors. William Clark, short subject sales manager for 20th CenturyFox, points out that although the foreign matter is much the same due to censorship, occasionally a scoop comes along such as the bombing of the Panay, and the exhibitor is glad to be fortified with all the reels so as to be sure to get these shots. Clark said that he felt many theatremen underplayed their newsreels. He pointed out that the names in the news are sometimes much bigger than those in the feature attraction and that the theatreman should announce to his public that star reporters who have won fame both on the air and on the screen are commenting on the news of the day, each time they play these reels. William Clark Don't Leave 'Em On the Shelf A chain, it is said, is only as strong as its weakest link. Perhaps the omission of worthwhile, entertaining shorts from your program is a "weak link." Book and play short subjects, but use just as much care in selecting them as you do in selecting features. THIS MONTH'S OUTSTANDING SHORT _ • • DON'T MISS -GAY KNIGHTltb Nov. Playing Everywhere • „, Release A Pete Smith Specialty Won the Academy Award News, alert theatre managers are discovering, is something more than fresh information about events that have recently taken place — it is an important factor in building box office grosses. Exhibitors who make a policy of exploiting their entire bill — feature, shorts and news — have been cashing in recently because of the intense public interest in news — and newsreels. Indicative of the importance of newsreels to theatres is the fact that Paramount News, according to company officials, has marked up an all-time high for sales throughout the nation. Just as newsstand dealers report a tremendous increase in newspaper sales so have exhibitors noticed a marked change in the reaction of the moviegoing public to newsreels. Obviously, the war crisis at home and abroad is responsible for this interest which has affected filmgoers to the extent that many — some, no doubt, for the first time — are aware of the newsreel as an entertainment and educational medium. Newsreel theatres, capacity at practically all performances, and even neighborhood theatres that never practiced the policy, now have mid-week news changes. This widespread interest is not a sudden manifestation, it is believed, but a definite indication that newsreels are box office, and as such, are important enough to the theatre for livewire exploitation. Exploitation material for promoting the newsreels via lobby displays and other methods is receiving more attention from distributor advertising organizations. The press book recently issued by. Paramount on shorts, for example, devotes an entire section to the exploitation of the newsreel. The selling slants contained in the folio are practical publicity methods, and include ways to carry out the "personality" angle which Paramount has used effectively in connection with the names of men behind its news cameras. The company makes it a policy of publicizing these cameramen, and theatremen who have used this angle have found favorable results were produced by special lobby displays built around photographs of the cameramen lends individuality to the newsreel selling and gives it the stamp of picture theatre showmanship. In many localities where theatres have made deals with newspapers to install a teletype machine in the lobby for last-minute news flashes, such deals have been found worthwhile, for they create word-of-mouth attention and attract crowds to the theatres. Staff artists can create an inexpensive lobby display which shows a burning fire, with a news camera and tripod in the center of the flames. Sample copy reads : "For the hottest news on earth see Paramount News . . . Making history twice a week!" This type of display, which can be changed monthly, regularly calls attention to the newsreel as an integral feature of the program. Scoops are an important factor in newsreel exploitation. Paramount News, it is pointed out, advises theatres of its exclusive stories, and exhibitors who advertise these scoops in newspapers and displays can generally depend on such activity to, fill additional seats. There are sports fans in every city who will go to the movies particularly to see the major sporting events in the news. This is an extra market that should not be neglected. Ads and displays will do the trick. News one-sheets are important and should be used regularly, for they not only list contents, but also have headline value. The short subject and the short story are a world of entertainment in capsule form, according to the display now being shown at the Cleveland Public Library (See Cut). In this exhibit the library invites its readers to meet via photographs the producers of outstanding short subjects and well known writers of short stories. Under the caption "You Have Heard Their Voices" are shown photographs of Pete Smith, Carey Wilson, John Nesbitt and James FitzPatrick, together with personal letters from them in which they outline the close relationship of the short story and the short subject. Additional letters and photographs of Jack Chertok, Fred C. Quimby and Richard Goldstone are also on display. Among the photographs of outstanding authors are Dorothy Parker, Damon Runyon, Thomas Wolfe, William Saroyan and Stephen Vincent Binet. _ Bookmarks, listing many outstanding collections of short stories and also suggesting that library patrons attend Loew's Cleveland Theatres are being distributed at the exhibit which was arranged by Frederick L. Meyers of the Library and Charles Raymond, Division Manager for Loew's Theatres and C. C. Deardourff, M-G-M exploiteer. Serial Provides Way for O'Dell To Merchandise Kid Kwiz Klub Virgil O'Dell, manager of the Aladdin Theatre, Denver, has been boosting his grosses by means of the Aladdin Kids Kwiz Club which meets every Saturday afternoon. To make each show successful, O'Dell utilizes three phases of showmanship. First he books a special short subject attraction. (For several weeks, the serial, "Adventures of Captain Marvel," had the kids talking.) Then he gets the audience to participate in a question-andanswer game. Finally, he gives away a bicycle, promoted from a local hardware store. Because of prohibitive newspaper rates, the Kwiz Klub has to be sold through other channels^ When the serial played, a highly productive method of doing this consisted of getting distributors for Captain Marvel cartoon magazines to pay the expense of thousands of colored 8x10 Captain Marvel photos with theatre imprint on the back. Ten days before the opening, the photos and a thousand buttons were distributed by means of a special ballyhoo which consisted of a new model open roadster driven by a tall young man dressed as Captain Marvel.