Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

18 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, February 1, 1947 j SELLING THE PICTURE Alert Showmanship Can Beat Lenten Slump The proverbial box-office slump during Lent need not be so drastic as you expect if you'll only take steps to counteract it. There are many things you can do to boost your receipts. This year Lent begins on Feb. 19, Ash Wednesday, and extends to April 5— a 40-day span when "pickings" are apt to be lean, unless you exert every ounce of showmanship in your makeup. Every exhibitor should start right now to plan his counter-attacks on General Slump and build up extra business to offset the poor returns that Lent customarily brings to the amusement industry. To help you maneuver into a better fighting position here are several ideas and suggestions which, if followed out with special attention to your clientele, will increase income to a substantial extent. To begin with, cultivate a close and friendly relationship with the church leaders of your community, since the attitude of the local pastors and other leaders of the various congregations toward amusements is of vital importance. The pastor who is unfriendly to amusements, particularly the movies, can keep many members of his congregation away from your theatre during Lent if he urges his members to devote the period entirely to penitence and self-questioning and to neglect all worldly affairs. Friendliness Pays OH If you have not done so in the past, you should begin at once to invite pastors of all denominations in your city to showings of pictures that are clean and wholesome, that may have a religious angle or depict some notable character or event. Let them know you make an effort to get the best in film entertainment. Tell them you value their opinions on your bookings— that their reactions help you in selecting future attractions. You must proceed tactfully, for some pastors condemn theatrical amusements specifically from the pulpit and may see only selfish motives in your approach. You may be able to induce them to make a statement on the improvement in the quality of screen entertainment — how movies inculcate lessons for better living in the problems they present and how those problems are met by the characters in the films. You will have no trouble in getting such a statement published. If you have a picture that offers subject matter for a sermon, be sure to invite all pastors to see it, because frequently they are looking for a topic that is timely and off the beaten path. Make a special effort to get for showing during Lent pictures that are clean and wholesome. If a feature with a religious theme is available, book it. Shorts subjects having a religious angle should not be overlooked. Showing them during the period will make many new friends for your theatre. Attune your showmanship to the occasion, but don't attempt to turn your theatre into a church. Palm Sunday falls on March 30, and for that occasion or a few days preceding and following it will be a wise procedure on your part to show, if possible, a film with a distinct religious nature. Revive an old picture if a new one is not obtainable. Spring follows Lent closely and in the spring the thoughts of women turn to new fashions in clothing. Take advantage of this by arranging for at least one fashion show in your theatre. You can easily obtain a tieup with a Schedule Activities That Will Heighten Theatre's R&le in Community Liie department store or women's shop whch will lend dresses and other feminine accessories for the occasion. The women will go for this, for they are always interested in new spring fashions. You migh offer ticket prizes for the most strking creation in a dress, etc. getting the editor of the fashion page in your newspaper, a dress designer a modiste even a window dresser, to act as judges. There are many other ways in which you can attract the public to your theatre. Many women, make their own dresses, knit scarves, sweaters, etc. A contest for the best dress, sweater or other article made by a housewife can be arranged and will attract much attention. In fact, such a contest might well be staged once a week, with suitable prizes for the best examples of home-made articles entered. You can get cooperations for contests of such a nature from previously untapped sources, such as dry goods stores, dealers in sewing machines, domestic science schools and sewing classes in the public schools. Sewing Demonstration A sewing demonstration in the lobby of your theatre is sure to get attention and attract new friends. Contact a firm selling sewing machines and arrange for it to loan machines for such a demonstration. It might also furnish an intructress, or failing that you might get the sewing teacher in the public schools to take charge and give lessons to all young women who want to learn how to make their own clothes. Suitable awards for the best articles HUNDREDS of entries, of which these on display in the lobby of Loew's Jersey City Theatre are but a few, were received in the Margaret O'Brien Doubles Contest to publicize the young star's appearance in MGM's "Three Wise Fools." Four Jersey newspapers cooperated with miss ann bontempo (lower case her's) Loew's publicity department, who set up the contest with the photographer. turned out can be promoted from the sewing machine firm, since such a class would furnish it with real prospects for the purchase of machines. The editor of the woman's page in your local newspaper would undoubtedly be willing to sponsor a "make-your-clothes-yourself" contest, thereby giving your theatre the best kind of community goodwill publicity. Awards for the best dresses, even if only guest tickets, would stimulate interest in the class. Knitting and hatmaking contests are just as valuable in publicizing your theatre and earning goodwill as the sewing class, and will lend variety and stimulate enough interest to be continued for a number of weeks. With the contest once under way, your problem is to get the public out to see the finished articles which you should keep on display for some days. You can accomplish this through your newspaper advertising (and through space the woman's page editor of the newspaper will give it) and by means of heralds distributed from house to house and by a special trailer on your screen. Contest in Lobby Garden clubs and garden seed stores are awakening at this time to the planting call of the spring, giving you another opportunity for both lobby displays and contests. Arrange with the local seedman or the garden department of a department store for a display of garden tools and seeds in your lobby. Especially play up any garden implements of a new character as amateur gardeners are looking for tools that will make the work easier. As most gardening is done by men, have your displays or contests at night when men attend your shows. Your seed store will be glad to send a man to give instructions on planting vegetables and flowers and hints on their care, and in most cases be willing to announce the fact in their newspaper advertising or in letters to their regular customers and by special throwaways. A contest in this connection might be to offer ticket prizes for the best account by an amateur gardener on the results obtained by him the previous year, or for the best hints on how to grow tomatoes, lettuce, peas or any other garden product. Girl Scout Drill As the Girl Scout anniversary week falls in the Lenten period — March 12 to 18 — you will be overlooking a good bet if you do not cooperate with the troops in observing the occasion. Put on a Girl Scout night in which the members gO' through their drills and other activities on the stage of your theatre. If there are a number of troops give a special night jj to each troop. The girls will talk about the programs and the current picture, or the one to follow, at home, giving you advance wordof-mo'iith publicity. It would be a goodwill gesture to permit the girls of each troop to remain for the current picture as your guests. Your Parent-Teachers Association should be contacted and induced to contribute an award for the troop putting up the best drill. Other anniversaries and holidays falling in Lent should not be overlooked, such as Washington's birthday, St. Patrick's Day and even (Continued on Page 22)