Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1944)

4 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW July 1, 1944 Back Up-Buck Up The Fighting 5th Oil Free Movie Day 24 Hours of Ail-Out Super Showmanship July 6th, 1944 Concerted One Day Push Urged to Aid Campaign Looking toward July 6, "National Free Movie Day." for Bond Buyers as the high spot of the entire Fighting Fifth War Loan campaign, Chairman R. J. O'Donnell and the National Committee have issued an appeal to all exhibitor urging one mighty concerted push through united cooperation. It is O'Donnell's conviction that if every theatre, large and small, will cooperate by offering free admission to all bond purchasers on that day and advertise, exploit and publicize the event in concert with his fellow showmen, the result will be a tremendous surge of bond sales toward topping the industry's national and local goals. Greater St. Louis, Mo., has gone O'Donnell one better by staging three free movie days in addition to bond premieres, etc. Large newspaper ads, heralds, lobby display and the screens of 330 theatres have publicized the three dates concluding with July 6. Harry Arthur, Eastern Missouri Exhibitor State Chairman, reports SRO bond sales on the first two days in the "Show Me" state. Appeal for Telephone Orders National Theatres, in addition to Bond Premiere, children's premieres and Free Movie Day has instituted the following promotions : All Los Angeles radio stations united on a ten-hour appeal for telephone orders from bond purchases with theatre mobile bond units making delivery. Tie-up with the Los Angeles Examiner devotes front page space daily to theatre bond issuing agencies. Boxing and wrestling match in Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium promoted by theatres with sale estimated at 5000 "E" Bonds. Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, will stage a 20-act vaudeville show running performances for a full day on July 3rd with free admission to bond buyers estimated at about 4000. "Duffy's Tavern" radio broadcast from Carthay Circle reported a sellout on June 27. Industrial shows promoted in coo-peration with an aircraft plant and leading rubber company. An elaborate program has been arranged in Riverside, Cal., for the display of aircraft and infantry maneuvers in tieup with March Field Air Corps and Camp Haan. The Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, was the scene of a network broadcast of "Breakfast at Sardis" with a sellout to bond buyers on June 24. Rudy Vallee and his Coast Guard Band has been hooked for 12 bond shows. The Fox Theatre, San Bernardino, staged a triple Bond Premiere ■on June 28 with morning show for juniors, afternoon for adults over 60 and evening for purchasers of $100 "E" Bonds and up. Ed Penn of the Cabrillo, San Pedro, has sold over 3477 bonds through a personal canvass of shipyard and industrial employes. Wyoming became the first 100 per cent state in the matter of Bond Premieres with every theatre staging one. This is also a "first" covering all previous WAC campaigns. Seventyfive per cent of the theatres have set Children's Lovif riems I FOR "FICHTIN6 ^th" M "E" BOND BUYERS Premieres and 93 per cent are on the Free Movie Day band wagon. James Glennon, Metropolitan, Washington, D. C, offers local business men 30-minute delivery service on Bond orders phoned to the theatre. Dale McFarland, publicity chairman for Iowa, is distributing to all theatres in that state a special "Fighting Fifth Scrap Book" urging a record of all state activities in the campaign. Rick Ricketson reports from Colorado that 85 towns are being bond-barded with traveling shows. Denver is reported in the throes of keen competition on a "Honored City Blocks" stunt with residents scrambling to make their home block the first 100 per cent block for free movie tickets. R. H. Coulter, Byrd, Richmond, topped bond per seat quota with 1493 "E" bonds sold against 1390 seats at the mid-point of the campaign. A plan that is selling thousands of Bonds for Loew theatres provides for men in the service to be "covered" with Bonds by their relatives and friends. The person buying or selling ten $25 Bonds receives a badge of honor, and the service man receives a card informing him that his name is posted on the Bond Honor Roll in the theatre lobby. Hundreds of service men wrote to the theatres in appreciation. You could urge families of service men to attend on Free Movie Day and offer a prize to the largest family attending. Top — Herald for house to house distribution used and prepared by theatres in Greater St. Louis to advertise the triple Free Movie Day activity. Bottom — Paramount, Des Moines, offers curb service to motorists at the TriStates sidewalk Bond booth. Says Movie Day Can Hit Total Of a Million 'E' Bond Sales Quoting figures from the Fourth War Loan, Charles M. Thall, Northern California "Fighting Fifth" exhibitor chairman, this week estimated that Free Movie Day can result in more than a million "E" Bonds nationally, if the exhibitors properly get behind it. Thall has issued a special bulletin to exhibitors in his area stressing the importance of the event. Highlights of Free Movie Day Plans In the words of R. J. O'Donnell, National Chairman of the "Fighting Fifth" campaign, "This is a vital and urgent call for extra effort. We must get more exhibitors to participate in Free Movie Day. We ask the cooperation of all exhibitors over and above the call to duty." Theatres can make this event a one day, all-time record day for war bond activity to date. One hundred per cent theatre participation is the goal. Make this a thank you salute to the boys who have liberated Cherbourg. One more smashing day toward victory. Here are the national details: If you choose, start running Free Movie Day trailers on July 4 to cash in on heavy attendance. Be sure to get yourself a trailer. Local Free Movie Day ads are set to break in the newspapers on July 5. Why not prenare special heralds for house to house distribution on July 5, announcing your Free Movie Day attraction and make it clear that tickets will be sold as usual to all patrons who have already purchased or are unable to purchase bonds? Network announcements will be broadcast on July 5, eve of Free Movie Day heralding the activity. Set similar announcements on your local station. They can be counted upon to cooperate. Prepare lobby posters for sidewalk "A" boards or easel frames for prominent display on Free Movie Day. An advance poster displayed from July 4 on will do no harm. Enroll your theatre today if you are not already on record for Free Movie Day participation with your local and state committee. Let's make it unanimous.