Variety (April 1932)

15 VARIETY PIC T U RES Tuesday, April 26, 1932 Those 1922 Jennies Amon^ the theatres picking up the 1922 penny, st.unt from this de- partment was tlie piverslde, ]S!ew York. The gas Is to* offer free ad- missions for one cent pieces bear- ing the date of 1922, which are. so jscarce as tb.comnjand a premium. , After vainly trying to . locate a coin, some woman crashed ,the 'Graphic' with the statement that .the Treasury Dept. had advis6d her 'that no coins w-ere minted-th'at yeah . This was fallowed a couple of days later by a letter from a man over in New Jersey who explained that 7,600,000 lad been minted in Den^ ver, but that someone had sought to corner this comparatively limited issue, quitting when he had col- lected about half the issue. And to top It, the Riverside kicked in. with a leMer t6 the :eftect that it had received some of the coins and to prove that It was; wUHng to do- nate admissions ' It would give passes to all over. 80 who ■vv«re ac- companied by a child, the latter to ipay. Colorful Italy! Ronie.. The mianageinent of the Umberto theatrfe here has ..a novel idea' for advertlslingf ..the kind of play or sketch -beihs shown on any., given nipht. - Entertainment at this; the- atre. Is' generally'Shoirt' sketches or Bometimes full length plays. As is the custorii in nibsf Kalian plaly-. houfies, the progmm. is frequently changed) hence • the Umberto. colors its faca;ile and-Exterior Uglitihg in a dlftfirent tint accordipg. to ' the type of play J&eing given. For llfiBtance; •vylieh.':aji Edgai* ;Wal- lace cHme play iff feeing given; 'the whole front outside of the theatre is colored a bright" yellow; this color meaning, according to the .c6de, •thrll! play,•shudders, crime or de- tective play.'-.. The cojor , scheme of the theatr« is very effectively car- ried out,'and can be seen at a dis- tance,, a Wg splash of color in the streetijj Looking at'the theatre from a distance, the would-be patron can tell at a glance' at the-color what sort of shpw'is on." A blue theatre means ;sentlmenta,l comedy, love play,', v^hlle red means, 'strong drama.' .The id^a. id. cap'ahle of de? velopmentt and if not really v.ery practical, gets'.the theare talked about.. mk Xemohade 'Polly .of .the .Circus' fairly yells for sa-wdust exploitation,: and at this time -of year, or for that matter untir winter quia,rters, the best bet is going, to 'be transforming the front into as close approach to a: circus tent as facilities ^—and the Are laws—will peimilt. PralcticAlly anyone can rig a marquee strip with /greatest show on earth* and Similar legends, and the gaudy paintings of the living curiosities, old actual circus' lithps or similar gags will brighten up the lobby. The old gag of putting sawdust or tan bark down should be out. It was all right in the ol4,theatreSi but it Is' ruinous to ;g6od earpets, and if used at all should be in sections where the crowd does not travel. Pink lemonade should be on hand e-yen If you have to persuade some charitable organization to make and isell it for its own profit. A three or four piecie band on the marquet, which can play; loudly if not ac- curately is indicated, and can be a kazoo band if the local n^uslcians want too much money. It's the noise that counts, together with flashy costuniing, and the uniforms do not have to bo alike. Spring Cleaning People expect, to see . a ho.use go into summer uniform as . soon as the weather warms up, and. it's liable to get warm almost. over- I night, so look over thc! summer unl- ' forms and the drapes, ask the box- offlce girls to be ready with light waists, and give tbe general idea that the well advertised spring has arrived, arid ho'w. Use lighter colors for lobby dis- plays, use cooler lighting for the lobby illumination, make your en- tire lobby , suggest an dd for .an electric refrigerator* There ig noth. inig like getting the season on the Jump.. Keep thcni cool arid they'll keep on coming,, but with all out doors beckoning and so many peo- ple owning cars, the temptation to run out into the country instead of flitting in a hot, stuffy theatre is jrteslstible.' For which reason don't let your theatre look hot. and stuffy. any of the numerous fishing stories and periiaps a three sheet can sup-^ ply the figure, where painting Is out of tUe question.' It does hot have to be a fisherman. Any male figure, not in (evening dress, will- do at a pinch. It will.be found that the average person follows the line, which lead.s to the saleis talk on the banner. ^ \ Babe Etttli's Sho'rti} . Troy. Ill connection with exhibition of shorts starrihg Babe- Ruth, sonie lo- cal newspapiers, particularly those who usis his - syndicated baseball stories, are coroperating -with the theatre management in the fprmar tion of a Ruth club for boys. Tp be eligible -fpr membership, the kids must be present. pri the Saturday. aftemoPn showing of the first film. On entering the. houlse they are given aii autographed photo of the Bambino; which m'akes them an in- troductory member. Names are sent to Ruth. When the secpnd picture is screened, members are given but- t'pns, .names again being mailed tP' the. star. .. On the third ishpw, each kid receives a persphia.1 letter frpm Ruth. In tpwns where the Tankeeis play regular league pr exhibitipn cphtests, a perspnal appearance pf the iipine-run hitter befpre the club is-^rpniised. . • THe Skaters . , - Dallas. - Publix-Palace get. spme live ;;pace Tiy ha'viii'g.flrls In F. .& M. 'Abput 'Ppwn' • uiiit '-make the Ft. Wprth- Dallas jump Prt skates.' Distance pnly , 32"miles an^ several small tpwhjs enrpute that cpme under Ft. Worth-Dallas drawing pop,. Girls decked out in loud pajamas and stopped along way to givis the vil- lagers Coupla samples .pf trick cpast- Ingi. '. Miet here by recep ccmmittee cem- ppsed pf pplice chief, health directpr, pf C, etc. Stunt particularly in line with skating flare in this sec- tipn that's got,'em young and old. In Two Cities Akron, O. t»ick Wright Pf the Strand used the familiar netvsboy matinee not only to help .his own hou^e, but to give a/break , to the Jthree^ ■\Varner theatres in Clievelana. which were playlnir 'Alias the Doctoi-' at the same time he. did, Cleveland 'News? has a circula- tipn, mostly by carrier, cf 10,000 cppies. in Akrph, ep he gave the bpys a shpw and arranged fpr refresh- ments tp be donated and the large stpries, -which included mention of the feature, gave publicity in both cities. In Advance West' Cpast ad manual, has switched its scheme and will issue ad mats pn all pictures as sppn as previewed, in L. A. Managers cpih - plain that waiting until the picture is played in I^. A. gets them the ma- terial tpp late to be pf use, sp the manual gees back tp the i>ractise pf the 'Last Wprd' and y/ill otter advance service. Setup will include pne each pf 2x6i 2x4 and 2x4 and twp 2x2, with pfCer tP change sizes if net fpuiid suitable. Mprtise spaces prpvide fpr additipnal items. Offlce is alsp pf- ferlng a nuhlber pf twp col borders, which can be filled in for any title. Jnvenile Beaut Contest Dallas. Although bathing beauts long classed with miny golf by Texas showmen, somebody always bites. R. & R,-Texas, local nabe, staging contest April 23-May 27, with new twist, this time fpr girls under 14,. giving natives squint at prospective s. a. Revues Intended to bolster Sat. a. m. Mickey Mpusie clubs. . Hpuse draws pn reg. nabe clientele, which may insure cnpugh iuntles and rela- tives, anyway; Seal Tackle Camep theatre, N. Y., with a llsh- Ing stpry pn its prpgram.: made an effective use pf the painted figure ■ of a fisherman hplding an actual pclo frpni the tip pf which the line winds arpund the cross banner, the figure itself being attached tp the ■Ide post. It can be worked for $2,500 in May Montgomery, Ala. Manager Richard Kennedy, Para- mountj in a tioup With local mer- chants will give away $2,500 In prizes to pati-ons at this theatre during the month of May; give- aways on each Monday night, witli the grand prize, on Mary 30, a Plym- outh roadster. Theatre gives mer- chants screen advertising arid news- paper readers in addition to a lino of chatter from the stage each night of the giveaways. For Biotel .Guests , Danville, Ky. . Kentucky theatre has a new way to get hotel business. It jposts IQ stills in the lobby of the Gllcher hotel with 10 tickets given for the nearest' Correct ideritlfications by the guests. Might not work in the big hotels, but it got attention here and told thc travelers that 'Arsene Lu pin* was in town.. . Films Hurt Grapplers' . Tacoma, April 25. Wrestling here is en the tpbaggah and managers pf the .^Im palaces .have dene their part to cause it tP. slide.' They've bee>t booking in. wrest- ling nlms and It's hurting the gate fpr the torsp tossers^ Local athletic promoters charge $1 fpr their in person talent; . . . .■ i,- . Electrical Lounge Show . V ' ,.■ Syracuse,- :N. T." Loew's . State had an 'extra a^ded attractich^ in the guise- pf an Elec- trical Heme-Making Shpw, staged in the Ipwer Ipiinge pf the theatre with eight Ipcal stores participating. Curipus angle Is th4t Syracuse lias been Pile pf the fecal ppints in the recent general camptiign. against the sp-caUed 'cpmmercializatipn' pf the theatre by advertisers. Appealed to Clubs Greeiy, CpI. C. T. Perrin, pf the Sterling, biiilt business. pn-. 'Brpken Lullaby' by, driving pn the clubs and crganlza- tiphs. Idea was tp have the clubs Attend in a, bpdy, at regular rates, arid entire admissipn to he returned tp the club having the largest per- centage of number present. Sug- gested as a. novel means of re- plenishing club treasury, but np stipulatipn as tp the disppsal of the CPin. ■ Clubs registered membership in advance, Anpther stunt was tp talk the io\ cal merchants intp giving the pic- ture space at the bpttpms pf their displays pn the argument that so nptable . a picture wpuld bring. In the cpuntry trade,, which wpuld dp a little shppping befpre er after the shPW. Gold Belo^yfT Par One' exhib^tPT whp paid .30c fpr a rpU ipi: bright red wall papei:'> splid cplpr, Pn which, tp rinake up banners fpr 'The^Hatchiet Man,'. figured the paper cpst sp little he cpuld affprdi gpld paint fpr the, lettering. It lppke.d fine in the .sign shpp, biit. in the Ipbby the letters shewed "Up priiy frpm certain angles. Frpm. all Pthers the lettering was faded by the lights. Ordinary black .marking ink cpuld have been seeh^ from all aoigles and wpuld have had rinany times the display, and legibility -value. . The gpld paint cPuld haye been spat- tered pn the paper frpm an pld stiff tPPth pr hapd brush and wpuli^ have picked up' the red, if npt tpp thickly applied, but the blackv let- tering is indicated; ^ Outside pf that the idea was gppd arid the single rpll ^f paper net pnly supplied the necessary banners but backing fpr the still frames and with spme left ever fpr future stunts.. ^• . Syracuse, N, T. Geprge Hppver, ntew manager Skpuras theatre in Oswegp, suc- ceeding E. A.. Arnold, resigned, . Uniontown, Pa.^ The old Dixie reopened April 22 as the Capitol. House was leased last week by C. A. JakobI of Pitts- bui'gh. . New sound equipment in- stalled; Ken Woodward mb,nager. Publix-Skpuras has installed a dlvisipn manager at Philadelphia for 10 hpuses in Pennsylvania and^ West Virginia, prempting . Mpnty Salmon, who was P-S city manager in Pbilly, tP the ppst. Salmon's 10 embraces Philadelphia^ Ambridge, Butler, Johnsto-wn, Uniontown, all in Pa., and Parkersburg, W. Va. Other 10 are directed from New York headquarters as a division. /■ ■ Lynchburg. Stage attractions went at the Paramount eal>ly this year so well that Manager Willis Grist, Jr., is planning to have the back of the house remodeleid bo they can be pre- sented more attractively. An over- head track wUl be installed SP the screen and speakers can be mpved against the rear wall when the shews start. Acts had tp Wprk in frprit pf a velvet dr.' -v curtain. Spme scenery can be used when the stage Id . rempdeled, and bands, which fprmerly had-tP. play in the small prgan pit, will be brpught pn the stage. . dlvisipn by Ed Olmstead, sputhwest cpiitact.mah. Red dak, ^a., The Grand, pperated fpr the past twP years by Carl O. .Jphrispn, was destroyed by fire with iPss Pf |60,000. WashingtPri, la. Fpx theatre has been reppCned by Ralph Pratt after fprced clcslng due tP damage dPne in Cengress hptel fire. New Bedfprd, Mass.; The Eriipire, fprmer Publlx the- atre, has been acquired'by the Zei- teripn Realty Cprp., pperatpr "pf the State arid New Bedfprd theatres. Publix had kept the hPuse closed as it adjpins the Publlx Olyihpia,. It will be reppened in a few weeks with films and ppssibly stage pres- entatipns. It seats 1,766. ' Purchase price repprted tp be $175,000. Yonkers, N. Y. W. G. Gutteridge transferred as manager from the RKO. Embassy, Dpbbs Ferry, tP Prpctpr's New Rp- chelle. Succeeded at Dobbs Ferry by Harold Daley, from Brooklyn. . ' New York. • RIvO managers dropped include Harvey L. Watkins, at Hippodiromc, New York, replaced by Raympnd Kpch* his assistant;. A. M. Rpy, manager pf Orpheum, Omaha, re- placed by Clifiprd Rust, his assist- ant. Othei' assistants made managers, are Arthur Brpwn, Chester. .New Yprk; William Henry, assistant at Jeffer'spn tp managership Park Laiie, J^TeW Yprk; and James Andrus, as- sistant tp division manager of nprthr West, appointed to manage Or- pheum, Spokane, with Joe Cooper transferred from that hoUse to Port- land, replacing Ted Gamble. : iTosepih Strebb, manager Regent, New York, has stepped up to assist- ant at Jeff; Charles Johnson, chief of service at Paramoimt. Cincinnati, becomes assistant treasurer at Or- pheum, that city, and Harry Sayre, treasurer ; at Dykker, Brooklyn, moves to the' Park, Far Rockaway, hi. Pallas. Several recent changes in P-P's southwest lineup, affecting mostly publicity staff : Boh Kelly from Met, Houston, to Texas, San Antonio; O. Fain Peek, RlvoH, N. Y„ to Met, HoHiston; Faye Lemmon from Texas tp Aztec, Santcne; Buddy Welker, Aztec, switched to RIvO Majestic, Houstpn. Shifts close pn heels of general advertising survey over this Denver. Annual conventlpn pf Rpcky Mpuntain Theatre Owners' asspclar tipn is set fpr June 7-8. New Yprk, Ahthpny A. Cpsta put as manager pf the New Dpuglas theatre. In the Harlem black belt. Np successpr as yet. Eastpn, Pa. Prpperty pf the Seville theatre, recently adjudged .a bankrupt! was spld by Referee Geprge P. Cpflln, pf Eastpn, arid by Frank W. Sandt, a. trustee, tP. a cpmmitteie representing the first mprtgage bpndhplders. . Ppmfret Realty Cp. has leased the Third St. theatre to the .United chain pf Philadelphia, Lpuis Ber-: nian. president. Lessees take i>psr sesslpn May 1. Denver. 'Grand Hptel' will ppen in this terrltpry with rpadshPw. at. Para- riipunt May 6. at $1;50'tpp. Mel TPdd, manager pf Fpx Prin- cess, Cheyenne, Wyci., pn sick leave; tp Califprnla fpi* twp riipriths. Mark Berkheimer, Kieva, Durangp, suc- ceeds him, succeeded by Chas. Ernst, recently with Empress, Denver. Plaza Amus. Cp. settled fpr cash In suit against'Rex theatre fpr spund equipment. Bppth arid front pf Owl theatre, Lprigmpnt, CpIp., burned; 18,000 feet pf film, including twp features, de- strpyed. , Palace theatre at Lprdisburg, N, M., destrpyed by fire. Mickey McFarland, pwncftr Ess- aness theatre, Rushville, Neb., father pf son. Pittsburgh. James Sharkey, for last, four years head of Columbia exchange here, succeeded by Art Leyy from the Col office in Washington, which he pre- viously headed. . ' New Philadelphia, Fa. Earle theatre has reopened, with sound. L. C. Comei-ford is inanager. . Reading, Pa. ' Albert Sindllnger appointed man- ager of all Warner theatres hero. Succeeds Albert Lefflos, transferred to the Rialto, York, Pa. Bridging a Gap Playing a picture on an \almbst pvernight 1)9oklng, there was. no time fpr a respxirceful manager to get held of the necessary cut ma- terial with . ''Which tp.. advertise. There was npt, even time tp switch the a.dvertlsement in ; the local weekly. It was a thrpw-away pr npthlng. And ^guring that .ypu get npthing fcir::npthing, . the manager determined tp dp spmething. '• It was 'an.average drama, with a . woman sta:r pf nP great impprtance. Gplng dpwh tp the printing offico to see if he cpuld dig put sprine extra fancy type with which tp dress up the circular, |ie rari acrcss a large cut pf ft wpmiEin Whpse face is fa- miliar . tp. all readers pf pateht rifiediclne ads. He alsp Ipcated a scene cut pf Eliza crpssing the ice, and anpther scene frpm some , long forgotten, play. ;, He slapped this in as art work. Wrote kidding Cppy that w'as certain tQ get a giggle*, and he went $46 p'V^er the average take; which was plenty in a hpuse that size., Only good once, but like all pne-. timers ppwerful that pnce. 'Shop Angel' Contest Brpnx, N. Y. ; Fpregping the press-bpok explpl- tation media on 'Shop Angel,' M6i*» ris Sussman, of the Empire theatre, ran an eriginal ccntest in ccnnec- flpn with the film's engagement kt his playhpuse; The cpntest ^as to deterriiine the mest pppular 'shpt> angel' in the Brpnx, and permitted every shpp girl In the bprough :io; compete. Voting ballots were issued with each paid admission during the run of the picture, each good for 100 votes fpr any cpntestant. Nelghbpr- Ing jeweler was tied in, and fpr the publicity: contributed articles of Jewelry as awards fpr the girls re-, ceiving the mpst vptes. ■ For .'Mouthpiece' One manager is set already fpir his explpitatipn gag pn 'The Mputh- piece.' He Is having . a painting made fpr the marquee tpp, shPwing. a; mputh six .let Wide, with red gauze back pf the glistening white teeth. A Ipudspeaker back pf the scrlrii will deliver a lead pf chatter abcut the bppk, the picture arid the players. Figured thut^the mciith cari be', seen fpr spme distance dcwri the street in bpth directions and get mpre than usual attention because it Is. only a mouth. ' It will at least be something different. Stenbs' 2-for-l ... Birmingham. A stunt that has been worked suc- cessfully a number of times, with pictures' about stenograiihers waa worked again, with showing .of 'Of- fice Girl' at Ritz. George Steele, manager, secured co-operation of 'Ppst* in running cpiippn admitting stenps free. Cpuppn had space fpr name, emplpyer and address. Ildea pf cpurse is tP catch the ^oy friend whP has tp pay tP get in. _ Only thing bad abeut the idea is a flppd pf gals abput 6 p.m. ccming in by themselves. Chain's Band Brpnx, N. Y. Cpnsplidated chain pf theatres has engaged Capt.. J. B. Mackenzie, fpr- mer Marine band leader, tp prga.nize the Cpnsolidated\Amusement band. Merinbership in the p'rganizatipn ppen tp patrdns 'only. Who will either be taught to play a brass instTument, in the case of begiriners, or given advanced instruction. First get- together fpr the wpuld-be bandsmen scheduled fpr May 1 at the Fpruni theatre, and already riumerpus ap- plicattcns. .L. A's Tpp Bate v . LPS Angeles. With the LPS Angeles "Herald" ab- SPrbing th£! 'Evening Express,' new 'Herald-Express' has upped its dra- matic page advertising rate frpm $8.40 per inch tp $9.24. Rate fpr the 'Express* befpre it faded was $4.30. Run pf the paper rates have been increased .30%. Other papers remain as befpre, with the 'Times' at $6,30 (daily) and $7.98 (Sunday); 'E.^aminer'.' $7.56 (daily), $10.99 (Sunday); 'Reccrd; $2.06. daily, and the 'News' (tab) $2.80 dally. Badio Plug Springfield, Mass. . Publlx has been promoting its theatres here and in Worcester through tieups with radio stations. At the Capitol, Worcester, auditions were conducted for vocalists, and several appeared on the stage night- ly for' a w^ck. The winner was given;,a prize pf $10 and a chance tp : sing, 'frpm st&tipn WTAG. Same plan was fpllpwed for the Para- mount, Springfield, in a.''soii;»llon with station WBZ.