Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

20 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 24, 1949 RadiO/MayorSend arma^ to SRO Top "A little well placed advertising and promotional stunt will certainly bring 'em in, which it did here, with the ol' S.R.O. sign getting a workout." Just think of it — the old S.R.O. sign got a workout. How long since you dusted it off? The report is from Ralph Hamilton, manager of the Santa Fe Theatre, Santa Fe, N. M. Ralph recently changed theatres, and the first campaign on his new job was in behalf of "My Friend Irma." Three weeks before opening date, spot announcements were broadcast just ahead of the "Irma" show over the local CBS outlet, KVSF. The station cooperated on all stunts, even going so far as to place an ad in the newspapers (at its own expense) tieing-in the radio show with the picture. Another radio program aired three times weekly was devoted entirely to "Irma" contests, with prizes going to winners who telephoned their answers to the station. "The local phone ops went nuts," says Hamilton. KVSF furnished a 40 x 60 poster for display in the Santa Fe lobby a week ahead of the playdate. Copy : "You've Heard Irma on the Air, Now See Her on the Screen in the Funniest Picture of Your Life, etc." Hamilton even got the mayor into the act. Mayor Frank V. Ortiz proclaimed the playdate "My Friend Irma" Week, and said, "I have laughed at the radio show and now plan to attend the picture and see these characters on the screen. I am sure they will be just as funny and lovable on the screen as they are on the air." Of course, the proclamation got newspaper publicity. As a local touch in his newspaper advertising, Hamilton used a picture showing the mayor reading the press book on "Irma," while behind him were the theatreman himself, the ad manager of the local newspaper, and a representative of KVSF. The ad also contained the mayor's proclamation. On opening day 5,000 handbills were dropped from a plane. Copy : "We're All Up in the Air Over 'My Friend Irma' etc." Hamilton laments the fact that he couldn't do more because of the close booking ("Oh sure, Ralph, you just took it real easy!"), "but the ticket machine played a mighty purty tune." Nightly Carol Singing At Broadway in Kingston Choirs of five Kingston churches and organizations sang on the stage of Reade's Broadway Theatre in Kingston, N. Y., nightly during the week before Christmas, under arrangements made by Manager Betty Riseley. The program, unprecedented in its scope, featured a different choir each night in a halfhour recital of carols and hymns. A public address system was rigged up so that Christmas music could be carried to the lobby and street during the day, and the stage programs broadcast at night over radio station WKNY in Kingston. Correction A caption to a photograph reproduced on page 17 in STR Dec. 10, 1949, erroneously identified Earnie Sturm as Fox West Coast division manager. Mr. Sturm is Imperial Valley district manager. Division Manager for the So. Cal. Division is Dick Dickson. IF THERE WERE any proper Bostonians who weren't acquainted with the fact that Columbia's "Jolson Sings Again" was going to open at the Loew's State and Orpheum theatres, it wasn't the fault of this attractively decorated sound truck which featured music from the picture. That sign on the back ("Don't Hit This Truck Because It's Playing Hit Tunes from 'Jolson Sings Again") brought smiles to Bostonian faces. Levy Gets Cooperation On ^Columbus' Campaign Practically all angles of local cooperation in the promotional campaign for "Christopher Columbus" at Loew's Theatre, Reading, Pa., were obtained by Manager Larry R. Levy and his assistant, Alton McHan, who went out after cooperation and got it due to their friendly standing in the community and the nature of the picture they had to exploit. Fullest cooperation was obtained from the public schools which not only made wide class-room use of the "Classroom Guide" on the picture, but made announcements on all school bulletin boards, along with "Columbus" stills and credit cards. Superintendents of both city and county schools made announcements urging the pupils to see the picture. Levy and McHan distributed 5,000 heralds to children leaving the schools in advance of playdate. Local distributor of Coronet, which recently published a section dealing with Columbus titled "Discovery — 1492," was provided with 150 specially made-up cards with a half-tone head of Fredric March in his Columbus makeup and the usual credits which were placed on view at every store and newsstand where the magazine was sold. The magazine distributor also took a nine-inch newspaper ad plugging both the picture and Coronet's Columbus section. 'O'Riordans' to Bow At N. Y. Park Avenue American premiere of LTniversal-International's "The Rugged O'Riordans" will be launched at a special invitational performance to be held in New York at the Park Avenue Theatre on Jan. 4, under the auspices of the Australian Consul General in New York, Lieutenant General Edward Kenneth Smart, D.S.C., M.C. The sixty-six week engagement of "Hamlet" will terminate on Jan. 3. Special ceremonies marking the premiere are already in preparation, with invitations being extended by General Smart to the Australian Ambassador to the United States, members of the Embassy staff and many other international dignitaries. Katz Goes on Air To Boost Movies Aware that the motion picture industry is faced with many problems at the present time, the most important in the opinion of Julian Katz, manager of the Lefferts Theatre, Richmond Hill, N. Y., is how to get the people out of their homes and into the neighborhood theatres. "A step in the right direction was made," Katz admits, "when public relations reels such as 'Let's Go to the Movies" and 'This Theatre and You' were released — I am for them 100 per cent ! However, the unfortunate thing about it all is that these reels are being shown to people who are already attending the movies, instead of those who are not." And so, with this opinion in mind, Katz thought what a wonderful thing it would be if he could promote some radio time to tell a tremendous audience why they should come back to the neighborhood theatres, and what would be in store for them if they would. One night recently while visiting Hutton's Restaurant in New York, where Bee Kalmus conducts her disc jockey program over WMGM, Katz sent a note to her asking if she would be interested in interviewing a theatre manager over the air — one branch of the industry seldom glorified by the air lanes. She rejected the offer that night for various reasons but agreed to an interview a few nights later. On that night, with the microphone before him, Katz pointed out that motion pictures are still the world's finest entertainment at the lowest possible cost ; that today the neighborhood theatres are more comfortable, more luxurious, more relaxing than ever before. He emphasized cleanliness and good service and other aspects of theatre management, and added that going to the movies "takes you away from your problems and gives you the opportunity to relax — a very healthy state of affairs." Katz is glad he was able to speak in behalf of moviegoing to WMGM's radio audience, because he believes that the theatre manager can best build his business, not by knocking television or any other opposition, but by boasting about his own industry and letting others know what it has to offer. If other theatremen throughout the nation could arrange to speak to radio listeners in their areas as Katz succeeded in doing in New York, it would indeed help in no small way to lure wandering patrons back to the movies. 2,000 Cans for Needy At Xmas Kiddie Show Two thousand cans of food for distribution to the needy of Saratoga Springs at Christmas, were realized from the "canned goods" kiddie show staged at Reade's Community Theatre in Saratoga earlier this month by Harry Burke, city manager. The show, an annual affair, had the backing of the Parent-Teacher Association of that upstate New York city. ; ' Nick Kelly's Free Show Kids' Christmas Treat Nick Kelly, manager of the Badger Theatre in Reedsburg, Wis., gave a free show for children over 11 years of age, in cooperation with the local Chamber of Commerce. Gifts were distributed to the youngsters attending. Boy Scouts assisting Santa Claus in handing them out. The show that Manager Kelly put on consisted of cartoons and comedies which had been especially selected for the junior audience.