Sponsor (May-Aug 1957)

breaking crowds jammed both theatres for a full week. I he reason was not cleai l\ apparent. The feature attraction was, " I he Snows of Kilimanjaro," a picture which had played everything but home movies. Yet the picture was held ovei for a full seven days, fnrough the full seven daj s, it did more than hlu pei • cenl bettei business than first-run pictures did al either "I the two theatres and first-run pictures, in addition, could last onlj three daj s. I here had been no tele^ ision advertising for tin picture and no more than the normal, -mall newspaper boxes. Bui a few discerning observers noted thai the Broadwaj and Yale were carrying a heav) schedule "I radio announcements on Houston's new independent, K.I I T. I he announcements were unusual (see sample cop) below). I he announcements were an interesting example of a new technique ol imager) transfer developed over a three-year period l>\ McLendon radio stations KILT in Houston, KLIF in Dallas and KTSA in San Vntonio. B) May, 1957, the technique was so refined thai it was now possible to predict gross receipts with some accuracy. There were other eye-opening tests of the new technique. Earlier, the same tv.o theatres, owned 1>\ Willow in Enterprises, had used a similar heav} schedule on Mil with highl) imaginative cop) for two less-than-awardwinning pictures. "\ oodoo Island" and "Pharaoh's Curse." ^gain the pictures had played l>otli theatres da) and date for seven days to business sixty-five percent better than first-run pictures which could last onl) three days. I wo hundred miles westward, in — • . ■ r i Vntonio, i inema \ 1 1 I heal res were h.i\ ing even more spo taculai »u< i ess "ii Radio Stal ion K I ^ \. Here n. disdaining the i anned ti ipe offered b) the j > r • >• 1 1 1 • ing i ompanies, and using instead excellent creative copj pul togethei b) San Vntonio's Frasei \ Wiggins Vgency, the big, 2 seal theatre had adopted a revolui ionai j polic) : it deliberatel) asked foi -ind took thr thud and fourth > hoi< e pi' tin es in San Vntonio. < Ifficials .it i inema \h made no effort to compete foi the two top films. General Manage] Bill O'Donnell said, "W e prefer to take the thud and fourth attractions and pla) thrm as a double bill. The advantages are tremendous. W ith a bea> \ militai \ population, accustomed to double features al theii eastern homes, and with j high Latin American population, also accustomed to Spanish-language double features, we have found that double features are peculiarl) important in San Vntonio." Cinema \ it had been |>ei h-< ting itradio techniques since I Decembei 1955, when it bought the lexas from it competitor, Interstate. I ntil thai dale the house had hern playing splitweek ln-i run. Recently, in June, it took two leftover pictures, hacked them w ith a radio i ampaign on KTSA, and incredibl) played to more admissions than "Gunfighl al the • )k Corral, ' top grossei in Vmei tea in June. On I Februar) 1957, with young people in school, (inema \rt picked up two dead-as-a-doorknob oldie-. "Twent) I housand Leagues I nder I he Sea" and "Davj Crockett," and double-billed them to the amazement of Loth opposition and producers. "Twen i j I housand Leagui in some thing hkr it one hundredth i un in Vntonio the picture had been milked • Its ami nobod) wanted u "• rocketl was thought t" be so dormant that the pi oducers were about i" take it out ol release altogethei and would have done so in anothei week. I be producers were so sh< m Led it < inrma \i i bu) that, even h ith itrecord of unbroken successes, the) re fused to provide an) monej al all foi promotion. "Nol a dime, it jusl won't work, the) told him. "we want to Bell |>i( hires 1 ul nol this had. \\ e'll even sell this one to you Hal no percentage and you take the difference and bu) youi own ,n\^. We won't split a penn) w ith j ou on promotion." Cinema \ 1 1 t""k the i hallenge and spenl a 60-40 budget split between i.idio and newspapers. The result, using K I S \. was a Bpe< ta< ul ti housi i cord at the Texas fneatre and some highl) embarrassed disti ibutoi In mid-September, 1956, aftei -< hool had started, the fexaa used Klx\ foi a w hopping i ampaign on "Hold Ba< k the Night," and "^ oung < .un-." both featuring stars probabl) nol even well known to their studios. W itli radio, the lexas again knocked them dead. From 111 through 2") January, 1957, it got similar results with "Don't Knock The Rock" and "Rumble on the Docks." \ n*l these were weekl) occurrences — with creative radio commercials on k I S \ the dominant ad campaign. The new technique probabl) originated fir-t at KLIF in Dallas. Here, management was fortunate in owning hoth its own radio station, kill, and a good suburban theatre, the < asa Linda, for purposes of experimenta Exciting copy technique and radio saturation drew top crowds to rerun movies "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" had played everything but home movies. The picture seemed completely dead and yet it was held over for a full seven da\s ami during that time did oO'r better than tirst run pictures did at (WO other movie houses in the area. Excitement was created b\ a heavy schedule ol radio spots on KII.T. Houston promoting the Hemmingway film. RADIO COPY SE : Music, I p and I nder \W Kilimanjaro i a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feel high ih< highest in \frira. It western summit i called Ngaje Njjai — the House of God. < !"-<• t" the summit, there i the dried and frozen carcass ol .1 leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude. . . . SE: Changi Musii . 1 p and I nder \W: This was the riddle of the eternal snows of Kilimanjaro . . . for llarr\ Street, it mean) -harp memories . . . < jmthia, the model with grey-green eyes and the leg a coll . . . the wild -uirl of the matador's cloak, the <im. k frightening red of blood. . . "Citizen Kane" never got off the -round in its premier in 1941. With Kill. Dallas' <<./>> approach "Kane'1 broke the all-time box office record for this theatre. \(> other picture even came close, and thu record was duplicated by other theatres using radio. Drive-in theatres in Houston featuring "( iiizen Kane" bypassed radio annount ements tor newspapers and died a terrible death.