Variety (Oct 1934)

1* .:f-'l ■>■>■■;''^-^^";'^v«-':^'^'Vy'ttv'^^.;"^^..''.! ChiistmasSalei;' tiidHyig of the Nit*, atainat tl^^^ books uud other fbrmi 6f cut riitew win ral.io trbuWe for inanaife»?»-w'ho have bct'ii soiling thoBe for yeai'« to linns us Kifia to eniployeeBl arid to pi'opl*' whd want tli< in for prps- «snts to iritMulH. Tlio (iiscoiint has uhv.iys lii'on a .strong salt's factor. One iiianaRcr has cin nhirlzod }ils former ciiwtomers as to thi lr will- •.iBgnesH to pay reKulur rates for the 'ticket*, ari«l has rort lvi'il ji favor- able feaiKinsc from .sonu', Imt not all. But l*e*« S**l'^(> uheait to make the iriwi fi» aftrwjUve Jhat he tigureH ''^''tt^WoMjrii'^l^ine. books, and pty ivnoURli to defray the coat i? millrltik them up, lie has con trao ted for Jk ahowy card to be used aa the r*6Ver, arid a scoonil pafj<' with a wil't inscrip- tion. t)n quantity lots tin* name of the firm will be j)rlnl<'(I in with any copy desired, a deal havlnj; been made with a small job shop willing to elianKC the type for short runa. The others will carry the ; uaiial wiah with 'to' and 'from* ■j^Ufait^JIdtU jbe d*me »ly«Hr the Unta <it ittttebHIty In^ead of the tmittt ariiunf•nl itt §91 Ung more for Um0 money. Certainly the Idea fif'mM to be worth trying, since there are hundreds to whom a book of tickets will prove a most accept- able, Klft. Also it solves the ' em. Boston. 'Six-Day Bike Hitler" kuvo Harry - Brown, p.a. of Paramount theatre. Boston, inspiration to mobilize 40 cyclists carrying coi»y on their backs. Hike parade pedaled through ' Centre of city, attractint; plenty of r attention. In addition to regular . .racing bikea, old-timer tandems and ;^;,lt|lli|^'-ikrheelerfl made Bostonians lack Uoldatein. Keiths publicity director, Bwuri# neAt sikk that -riMRh Jiewit|>ap6r oaiindraihen. wlisa iMMler Anaoii W«ekii (Stutlier llptet) iaet Bajtriy hQWMl ln.«,. at Keith BoatOn l«OkiitiM« *Wei(ifca -mMta. We^' idea «ikutht^ HP bnr j>|f«Ba ]|i #rlt9-upik Fact that : iMtef watid w*vut htiu f riua WMt. : :|Wd^^lItp^f^on^. #aiti. uped'.M^'iUldi- Bridgeport. OlVeri the Job of putting over the 'mit Kddie Cantor-Kublnofr-Cliff " tttax stage show with less than a ;■ week for advance. Manager Matt Saunders of roU'a (Loew) la cred- ited with the |i«il::ea«e^!plffK''4^^ ; long career. ' ' J Southern Conneoticut was cov- .' ered with 24-8heet8, with display space in all leading papers of county. Chase & Sanborn, Cantor's air ; sponsors, coopped with 1,500 spotted V cards through territory. Saimders I. even got Stratfleld, city's No. 1 hotel, where Kddie stopped, to pug the en- ': gagement on the restaurant menus. Band met comedian At raiiroad ata- tlon when he gbt In from New York. Engagement was a i^atural . fof *|ty^»': Harvest Festival W«Bkt tint Wlf; of which Cantor : ■•■;^:^^^■■■^::■"^'/■^:;':T»»iJUi^ Curiimtirilty theatre manoiger la m^t to Hpend tlidio oh trairiinr hiR . jtatroria, but he's making them work ; for Ihelr nioriey. He started off a *: aeries with a paper on 'What I like /about the Clinton theatre.' Next ;weck he had them tell what they ■•fdldn't like. For the next 10 weeks i they will write a criticism on one Cert.iiii play each week, these being Bel( ( ted to give variety. At the end , of tiio session the acts of 12 papera Will l)e judged as a wHole and priEea : £f «&9^|%». lis (ihd fi« ftw^r^dlbr htat:aft^/>^ '■'■.:'X\;'^-,t.'^'- : lii^la id<% that U IteS 4bi:ihs: them , w thin^^ theatre In terms of •. Wpreclatlon and makes them study .'Hrhftt pictures they like best and Why. he'll have a more intelligent ; set to advertise to. He wants to be able to sell on value, because he thinks his bookings represent cla.ss. The most valuable paper will probably be that relating to the reasons for llklhtf the house. This might well be made th# ;aub4e<l^t of ♦ «iri.gle thetna coriteat tb erystalljKe Appreeiatlim of tb« theatre, i^ost fiattona: tMtii |«o tnUeh for graced. ^;^fy d<l!^ lM^t realize that many more '..tMngS than a comfortable < hnir mav determine confort and .satisfaction. : They may not realize ttu- conifort tbat comes from proj>orly screened lights, from carefully tempered air. from the absence of confusion due *o highly trained ushers or that tramini; ,i,,i.s not mean proflci«ney . in military drill but a skilliriil aeat> A thp lhci»nihg tMtroiia.: ^ah be brought out WSH*^ a atudy of the theatre M . 9f^^M«d into a booklet that will g^JW* riirtfo for the house than the . gy"! "''"titlnt -llNwi;,»ar.tlc- picture, ••■.^ Kind to Newsies : flaUlmom (ieiirKe iUruw|iiri|(, |»,ia. ifor War. ner's >itj|inley, rSvlved' tl^e newa- stariil wtflifbta in antlcijtaUon of •llapplliMMMl.Ahifad* (WP). He, ae- cm ed a loAd of woOdea blocks, had cm imlnted to reiaoittble butldlng briekj!). and diistributed 'em ai|piig I he downtown h^waboya. HojN pl.mked 'om doWri on their ataoRs of i»npers. uslrig the blocks as weights. "Fach block has a artiall upi iglil board attached to it, and on this surface Browning listed. hlit picture and theatre via a paper sticker. Fach Week the new pic's plug can be pa.sted onto the block. Idea clicked with the newsies, there never having been a commercial ad- vertiser around town for long while who doled out paper-weights to the paper peddlerji. and with the winter winda due. ittjWi,' th»; ladi '|em. Paid in Coin coina In i^ ahbw window aturtt for 'Treasure lalarid,' a novel twiat was given by announcing that the ;i^in- ner of the estimate would "not be mentioned until the opening of the run, but that anyone presenting his stub from the estimate at the soda fountain could obtain the news two divys earlier^'; -.liivmit'-'^M to pveifik at nooiw';; •"■' :<■:.-.,., i^id waa auppoacid to go oflt at ttobp and there were hundreds i*raitlag to ask the iiuestion. Jar holding the candles had been taken In and stood on the counter. As each stub was presented, it was checked by the attendant. Most of the ap- plicants were handed a golden coin with a shake of the head, but tickets were pre.sented those who came closest to the real figures In their mtlmate. Stub wiM ratalned to prevent encores. . >■ Gag of handing out a pleice of candy along with the nod proved a winner, and the candy made more talk that afternoon than has ra- sulted from most conteata. • iio rt^Mon i/rhy tha stunt cann«t b« wbrked wittah othef caadled oh other titles, but It worka DitrUe- ularly well with Island' and all over downtown pleased conteatanta were showing their 'plecea of eight.* Two daya later the actual num ber of colna waa posted in the wllidow* together with the names of this careful counters. Did not get aa lnu«h UttMltlofv but It put iriMh head ' 6it.;tiM/talk., i:.-.. It doea, not always bAPlMh tbat a aturit cari be freahened, but Ideas never come to those who Juat go through the regulation motions. It does re<iuire an alertness that marks the difference between routine and shownuuiahlp. ilaihy Banner One of the flashiest banners made for small time use Is fabricated from tin cake boxes, all of the same size, wangled from the grocer for a CQUl)le of pasaea. Boxea are round .Boxe^ are hailed to a board which seta ihto a black shadow box in the re.'ir of the lobby. Each tin is wired with a socket passing through a hole in the top and with cord fastened to bring a small wattage bulb in the center of the tin. Holes are bored for ventilation with a r-shaped piecfe of tin soldered over the hole to prevent light leakage, which would atnoll the elfe^t of the sign. Wiring taribln^tea In^ a plug so that' th4 biiRikrd may be reHnoted from Its >^ inu^h trouble. ' ■ -"/^. ^.: When a run Is ended the board is taken to the sign room, where It Is laid flat, the covers remf)ved and the old letters taken out and re- placed with fresh newsprint paper, moist, but not wet. I'aper Is tightly stretched by merely placing the coyer on. Only the rlm of the covers is retained, the centers being neatly cut aul Kaqh box carrlea a colored bu1b : #lth a Hashair button In the aoeket, care being t^kc^ri not to get crtrifllcttrig colbra iob close together. Lights are turned on. quickly drying the paper, then the surface la lettered for the new attraction arid the board replaced. Quick flashers are used to give a maximum ot lllunilnatlon. Simple to handle, ei^ectiye';ft)rid''Ch«)M>>'■■^^'•^'ri;/: •Good' Autos Again l{itz bias worked ult an agreement by whieh three autonloblle license number^ are printed In the News in a ipeciil b^x. Tha numbers ar« Picked at ran4<wiii:by dntmb^ of the theatre who iNff' sdltocb^e ddmg a good turn, for example, ohe motorist stopped his car In the middle of the block while school kids crossed. The nimifber of t^li.^ car was printed and- the owner invited to come .i^ift tiieatre for his ducats. . , ' . : Cinderella Stuff xteading. Lotfw's Qulonial Theatre here. Itobeft' if. 4ulibiit manaarer, tied up with the Keading Ttmea in an ex* ploltatlon siuhi with tfahy ih chantsi advertislhg In the Times, to make Julia Billy.^ 17-year-old girl rescued by law ofllcera from work in a stone 4Uarjry, a 'queen for a day.' •yuarry : stuff went acro.«a big. The girl, fled from the home of a couple in whose home she and an 4>ld«r-sinter, Anna, 19, had been placed in childhood, after being beaten so badly that a woman ptO' tector insisted on legal action. She was eacorted on a tour of ;>torcs, each merchant giving her a substantial gift of garments, shoea, hata. Jewelry or other^^ articles, and on a aightaeelng trip over tha bity. She was lodged: oV«>ttlcht |h the 'pireatdentiai aiilta' <a. tha Abraham Liitcoih H6t^ and aaar a If tni» *Wbat Every Woman Knoar*.' at Che Xoew theatre, aa Suits' gneatt So many women catoe In i^vahce to see the girl that the house waa jammed hours before she arrived, to occupy a .h<p« .irith ■a- fflrt»:i|;sj|H|tB i- aa chaperone.;;v■:'j'• ''\ .> ' Reading. Three theatres here. Wllmer & Vincent's Embassy; Warner's Aator and Loeiv'i Colonial, coopetmted with the Beading Times, m^HiiIng newspapM* in a promotion atunt coverinir tliria diiNft «i heavy mer^ chandislnjg inu^ vaM, under the title of «aarkB (emmtar> CSiriobii^^ Days.' ■ ■ Prize awards, including a four- door sedan, and many cash gifts were made from the stages of the three houses. The theatres got first page publicity in the Timea for a solid week as a result of the tieupi Mail Matter., ' 'lAncaii^'e«,"!Pa. Personal letters to local lawyers stressing the puwer of the v^urtrpom. scana in Tlia case ot the Hovrimg Dog' and telling how the ch.ain oj evidence is developed brought the expected results for tha: |»l(StUre'at the Capitol theatre here. People, Manager Ray O'Connell has found, respond to the pttrfonal letter more quickly and a»oiro. fre- quently than to aiqr other nmll trlick. Tie-up nntde With boya deliverln«r Liberty mai^axlnt wherabjr a card saying The Case of the ItoWlInf Dog* fascinated you in story form In Liberty. You'll be Just as fascinated by this powerful story In picture form now showing at the Capitol theatre. Was attached to magazine gag. Kids plug door bells all over town aiaictng the tle«up very worth while. ■ Also used postet^r Oh telephone polea and heralds. ':.''.Canton. Waltae^ Warners Alhambra manager here, hit upon a stunt to exploit the engagement at his theatre of Joe E. Brown In 'Six- Day Bicycle Race.' He tied up with the Grovemlller Cycle Shop here and a bike parade the. day the plc- turie opened at tha theatre was held over the dOiimtf)%n atreeti vUmed by tbouaanda of people on thf strewa.' Tha piurade laited an hour. PaC' rtlclipants In tha parade were jgu^sta Of Mr. Blliott and Mr; Oird^veHmiller at a showing of the plotttra. Lead riders carried a largli banner an- nouncing the feature film and scores of the blkea were gaudily decorated. Many Of tha rldera were in co8tum.e. the Plttaburgh, Abe Halle, WB'a manager In near- by Tarentum for last several months, has been transferred to the Philadelphia zone with Lou Fordan, of Phllly, coming on here to replace him. Couple of Warner houses In dis- trict reopening after lengthy shut- downp. but for weak-end operation Only. They aira; HoHfWood, nabe smair^aeater in I>6«aidnt. and Ritz tin NOW Xanslntftoa. .'. Beattla, Art Klfotk la contractor for the 12 piece band at tho Orpheum. just opened by John Hamrick aa vaude- fllm. Owen Sweeten, conductor. Arthur Olson Jolni piajat;lifi!!, of Hamrick circuit:. Birmingham. Wilby and N. H. Waters did a little house swapping when Wllby took over the Roxy, a new little house at Ensely and Waters took over Wilby's Trianon at North Bir- mingham. Waters operates a string of neighborhoods while Wllby has so many bouses they are no^ called '« cable.'--':;, ■': ' / Wheeling. George Shafer fau closed the Vir- ginia here and Oeorge Otte. the hou)^^ manager, who formerly man- aged the Pitt In Pittsburgh, has JO^0j:^Rl!^^.|ffsrlir^^^ ^■ ■ OroVar; tSItt,' Pa.' Purchase of the l<a|estle theatre building on Bi^oad street by the Kay- ton Theatres, Inc.. of Franklin, Pa., has been announced by the. owners, the Turha^-M^ay eom|iai|9'A#f this city. ._ .;:;■> •V'^'.:' ' ■ , New York. Walter Morris, manager of the Stanley, IJaltlmore, resigned that post Oct. 26 to assume new dfttlfC at the Warner home office. Rodney Collier, who for the past ten years was managing director of the Rialto for Universal In Wash- ington, will take oyer the Stanley. Canton. G. B. Odium, former manager ot the Palace here and the Mllea ftoyal in Akron has boen named WMmilti^ of the l^nd O* Danoo, downtown ballroom. H. W. jstacralt liaa irM>penad the Ottowa thaitiNid^f^toara, O. Mrs. M. If; AfidaririBa «C. Kilaa WlB reopened tha KhWMaai tMtira at Kinsman, O. ' Rex theatro at Alllaaca, long dark, will be reopened oooa by Clar- enee J. Vbgel, who has a half dosen theatrea in small towns tn Ohio, West Virginia and weetem Penn- sylvania. Old Opera house at Follanabee, W, Va., renamed the Princess, has lieen completely rennovated. new sound and other eqolpnient In- stailed, and reo | iee>ad mtii Galyesion. First of a group of theatres to be built by the Karl HobUtzelle-Wlll Horowitz Interests at Houston will be an 1,800 seater on Capitol ave- nue, opposite the Texan, which will be part of a contemplated Invest- ment of 11,855,000. Start la expect- ed in thhr^ daya. Mason Clty^ la. Leonard L. Kaplan, Iowa theatre operator, haa purchaaed the Iowa theatre from W. B. Krouse and plana to spend In the neighborhood of $10,000 to enlarge capacity, pro- vide for stage shows, etc., and make the hou.se first class In every respect. Kaplan has houses at Waterloe, Dubuque. Sioux City and Aberdeen, S. D., and has made plans for taking over several others In near future. The new Mason City house win change over to the title aa Jgoft jfffffiodeliBf Is flni / Syracuse. Sholdoa Opera House at Bamitton haa.hpa^l^ clrwi|L;\.;.-<v::-^^^^ ''-'Oi^land. FOX West Coast riianagerial shake- up continues with three shifts. Bryan Wlest, once of the Orpheum and recently of the State,, .second- run, replaces E. J. Sullivan, former- ly of San Jose, at the Orpheum. Sullivan goes to Californi.i, in Ber- keley, second run, and rei)laccs Da- vid Richards who will try his hand at tho Btl|il» downtown. Albany. Northern Circuit Company of Syracuse has leased the Opera House at Lowville for five years at anmial rental of $1,200. Pictures and stage ahowii scheduled. House has been eloaed since early spring. Clarohca Flint out after only a few m^eeks as manager; of Warner Avon, ITtltai Succeeded by irwln S. Kay, front Palao0, jaine8t6wn; Spilt weOlt flve-ael vatide policy at Majestic, Uticai ahelved after two weeks' try by Morris Shulman, who also operates Olympla and De- Luxe. Maiaatte now |i»liiQrint dcMibie features, '■' ■''v:;' ' P*Wtto ■ Capitol theatre,: Ihdii;' atartlng Oct. 28 will be a uhibh bouse throughout. The decision to union- ise tha hoi^a^ ends a disagreement betWMh' th•^ theatre and the labor organisations that haa bee^t in prog-! resa for'aOiKeralyears.'.' With the closing Of the Music Box theatre, Eddie Ftlvera, who has been manager, will take over pub- licity and exploitation for the five Hamrick houses here. When the theatro reopens on Nov. 1, Ted Gamble, manager of the Parker the- atres, will have charge of opera- tions. Plans catt 1<^- a iMtcy" of drat .run ..pix.;:,.;-, y.^f-\, ■ ::,Seal|pd Bids ■ With «r(vto#iiii^i ebt. In his tion, one manager who likes to jazz things up has struck an idea which h^^*^li8v*iii--a^ 'tlte^'^clf^-; of the eagle's claws. Friday night is set apart as auc* t'i<>n n^t; After the shbiir feveiral pieces of merchandise l^re aoid ta the highest bidder, bttt not. b^^^^ thf ususrl means. Artlciii; irairige f roih' books to bridge lamps, chairs and occalslonally things of greater value. All are obtained from local firms and their sales value Is distinctly marked. Following the night show bids are called for on each Item separately, any patron being at liberty to put in a sealed bid* Figure must be written down and not called out. |iighejit bldd^R' take* the artlcla, and often tbi higheat biddet!' comea clo.ia to tba actual aalaa value; figuring tbat tod small a Md' niay foni^ the bargain. In tfa^ case Of a tie, the top figure bidders are • given one more chance. If It's still a tie then the article is put over to the fol- lowing week. Bulky articles are delivered, but all must be -jpiaift foa at the time of the sale. < ^ Doesn't sound like a warmer* upper, but since the articles ara well worth while^ and not stale stock, there la A keien; eonapetltloni and frequently as aiiiany aa 100 bldi will ba received for a single Item, with all of tha biddera eitting On tha edge of tbeif ajsats. A coaxer is the faet that often a small bid will take a desirable article. All goods are displayed In tho dealers' windows for a week, which gives a good advertising connection. Each sign mentions the retail price and suggests that if the bidder falls to get the article at auction it's still a bargain at tha regular salin value. Albany. Mllkin^cpwa on toe "j^^ Toi^ 8^a^^ limra Mllkf eainPAiCa^ la a atunt of Warner theatres In Utica and Troy. A woman won first place for being the county's fastest milker at the Stan- ley in Utica. The honors went to a male farmer during the competi- tion at the Troy theatre In Troy. Troy had hillbilly band playing 'Turkey In the Straw' during con- test. Stunt given credit for big apurt in biz. Me^NIMipr »esQlta iiiraro ex- cellent..;:. y-L ... Omaha. Charlea Seblaifer, directing the publicity of the Omaha A. H. Blank theatrea, engineered a stunt for the showing of 'Judge Priest." It waa done over the ether from muny police court which is on the air via two Omaha and two Lincoln sta- tions daily. The popularity of these broadcasta was quick, and . the Blank office wad iui td^^ opportunity. The trick was simply to bring la./ an alleged speeder with (theoret*' icaiiy) the goods on him. When asked bjr tha ;|udga why ha was speeding^ ha answered that he waa hurrying to aai 'Judge Priest.' Onlf v td(A A minute and a little fixing. ^ ' ■ .Paris,'. United Artists' buildup for 'Ouf Dally Bread,' although sli,';htly crimped by national mourning for King Alexander and Louis Barthou, yet was newspaper Intransigcant. Opening Invitation performance at Miracie.s. Intranaigeant'a theatre, was billed aa a world premiere, and got all the hot ^Mrsonalitlaiii 6f Parte society, iM aafene tinie Intninslgeant Is rurinliii iMI: page adVertisementa that are not edatlng^U a eeht. to aay nothing of a fl6ck Of other free pub- licity. First criticisms, now comlnpj out, are extremely good, and it only re- mains, now to see If the bally is reiiiii'.fietei:t d lyin g lA::b ^ei^e i| | '-' '"liiMa ''dratiadntal'';;.:': iiyracu.se. WaUam J. 'TMbbert, R»k-0 city manaigeiv caahed; in oia .t rivalry anioni Syracuse dan^^imr teacher^ to tiHrodiica rTha Cocrtli^ntal'' lo«' catty by stasfng a d«!inb'i<it'it^<>n Keith's 4n Conifectton with the open- inf Of ^'n»» :0ay ©ivorfcee;' PUiifla of the Ninita Johiia and Margaf«K Reed school.s interpreted the new steps, with Ken Sparrion's orchestra doubling from WSYB to Play for ' the show. As if inducing the d.in< ing teach- ers to provide un .iddeil attraction for him wasn't enougli, Tubi)ert s-aw to il that the sc hools used ;i<|- dition.tl disiilay si)acc in th" a-niisdiii ment columns for the atuaciiuo. ."