Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 1, 1949 $300,000 Budget For Magazines on ^Prince of Foxes^ Twentieth Century-Fox tbis week revealed that it would spend $300,000 to advertise its forthcoming "The Prince of Foxes" in 24 national publications which range from Sunday newspaper supplements to weekly and monthly magazines. The schedule, said to cover the largest amount of money spent by the company on any single picture to date, is intended to pre-sell its Christmas film to a reading audience of 300 million. According to Vice-President Charles Einfeld, the campaign is an effort to employ for a motion picture a technique which has been successful in the sale of automobiles, electrical appliances, deodorants, dentifrices, razor blades, cereals, etc. It consists of the manufacturer laying down an intensive sales campaign so that the retailer need only follow with ads telling the public that it can get the product in his store. Each ad is slanted for the particular publication in which it will appear, Einfeld said, and will push the picture as both holiday and family entertainment. The schedule follows : Magazines — Look, Life, Woman's Home Companion, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Collier's, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar. Fan Magazines — Modern Screen, Screen Stories, Motion Picture, Movie Story, Screen Guide, Movieland, Movie Life, Movie Stars Parade, Photoplay, Screenland, Silver Screen. Sunday Newspaper Supplements — American Weekly, This Week, Parade, Puck. Hollywood Seen Tieing-ln With New Comic Book Holly;(wood, which has long avoided comic books because of the fear that they might involve films in their troubles over content, seems about to tie-in with the large circulation of one group — National Comics Publications — ^in their new "Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood" series. This particular group of comics, which allegedly avoids horror and is guided in editorial content by a group of psychiatrists and child experts turned to Hollywood with the new series which deals with the adventures of a girl in Hollyvvood. It also has pages with sketches on Hollywood styles, postures, a picture biography of a star in each issue, plus a short biography, a short interview and news about pictures. Paramount Comics Paramount announced this week that it had entered a special comic book tie-in with National Comics Publications for a new series to be based around the lives of its stars. The first two are on Alan Ladd and Bob Hope. Fair Exchange Pays Off Radio and the Theatre Richard Feldman did a little trading that worked to the benefit of the radio station as well as the theatre in a tieup for "Johnny Stool Pigeon" at Keith's Theatre, Syracuse. The swap was a 30x40 display out front featuring Howard Dul¥ and his "Sam Spade" air show for six "A" and three "B" spots plugging the picture over station Wfi'BL, Columbia outlet in Syracuse. AT SCHINE SYRACUSE REGIONAL MEETING. Eighty-five Schine division, group and theatre managers attended a meeting recently with Schine Circuit home office executives at Syracuse, N. Y., and discussed a fall season showmanship campaign. Guest speaker at an afternoon session was Stirling Siliphant, 20th Century-Fox national promotion manager. Starting at the left: Harry Unterfort, Central New York zone manager; Seymour Morris, advertising and publicity director; Siliphant; Louis W. Schine, vice-president and treasurer; Gus Lampe, general manager, and Bernard Diamond, assistant to Louis W. Schine. ^New Era of Showmanship^ Keynotes Schine Syracuse, Columbus Meetings "Today the exhibitor faces nezv problems unlike any imth tuhich he has ever been confronted. The theatre manager must be prepared to cope VLiith them by being fully acquainted zvith what he has to sell and hoiv he intends to sell it. The routine and traditional type of selling is no longer adequate to merchandise our product. We must find new ideas and new avenues through zvhich to sell our theatres and their attractions. . . . This is 'a neiv era in shoivman-ship' ; today vue discard the old to make zvay for the ncin'!" Thus did Schine Circuit Vice-President and Treasurer Louis W. Schine keynote two regional meetings held recently in Syracuse, N. Y. and Columbus, Ohio. Meeting with home office executives in Syracuse were 85 division, group and theatre managers from New York State and Maryland, while 50 men from Ohio and Kentucky gathered m the Ohio state capital. Stirling Siliphant, 20th Century-Fox national promotion manager, appeared as guest speaker at the Syracuse meeting, while MGM's Mike Simons addressed the gathering in Columbus. Siliphant outlined his company's campaign plans, his discussion patterned along the style of 20thFox's recent merchandising meeting in New York. Dealing with the status of the theatre MIGHTY LIFELIKE is the figure of Esther Williams in this "beach-scene" lobby display on MGM's "Neptune's Daughter" at the Daytona Theatre, Daytona Beach, Fla. manager in his community, Simons built for his Columbus listeners a theatre manager who was idolized by his community because of the deeds he did and the goodwill he earned for his theatre because of the friendship and respect of the townspeople. Pete Wood, secretary of the Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio, was also a guest at the Columbus dinner and welcomed the visitors. At both meetings, Schine executives spoke on various phases of showmanship and theatre operation and outlined fall season campaign plans. Schine Assistant Bernard Diamond expressed optimism and declared that "all we have to be concerned with is getting the amusement dollar into the movies instead of allowing it to go elsewhere." Chief Booker William Kraemer expressed his enthusiasm over the quality of new season product. Tell Plans for Drive Pointing out that the fall campaign was not prepared in its entirety but only in its fundamentals. Advertising and Publicity Director Seymour Morris told of plans for the circuit's showmanship drive, "Look Forward to Schine's '49-50 Show Season." He said the real campaign plans would be formulated by the Schine managers attending the conferences (which was later done, with the home office executive committee going over the ideas suggested by the men and choosing those that would be most applicable to the fall season campaigrn.) General Manager Gus Lampe assured the managers that since Schine's was able to offer good playing time for vaudeville, which was brought back on a circuit-wide basis several months ago, they were assured of getting top acts. Maurice Glockner, head of the Confectionery Division, showed new ideas in dressing up candy cases and how additional sales of candy and popcorn could be obtained. Personnel Director Charles Horwitz reminded his listeners that now, more than ever, the theatre must be the community center in every situation. It must be so inviting, he said, that its service, comfort and courtesy would be on the lips of every resident, and that wherever groups gather, the manager would be proud to have his theatre as the subject of conversation. As guest speaker at dinner following the Syracuse meeting, WSYR Manager E. "Curley" \*adeboncoeur declared that while television would become an important medium in the entertainment field, it would never be a substitute for either radio or movies.