Variety (Oct 1937)

Vednesday, October 6, 1937 PICTURES VARIETY 27 EXPLOITATIOH :: By Epes W. Sargent Mickey's Birthday Rochester- Manager Lester^ Pollock circusing ticket selling for Saturday morning Mickey Mourse birthday sho;y. Pasteboards on sale at three promi- nent downtown stores, Sibley's, Scrantom's and Liggetts, with post- ers and window displays. Chief ben- efit, aside from advertising value, will be to avoid mobbing the box office with 4,000 kids and mothers trying to buy tickets in the last few minutes before the show starts. Show,' which includes 10 Mickey Mouse cartoons, sells for two bits. Campaign also includes releasing 1000 Mickey Mouse balloons, con- test over WSAY with dolls for prizes, teaser series of spot an- nouncements over WHEC, boy in Mickey costume giving out charms, posters in schools and libraries, let- ters to clergymen, line over cartoon in the Sunday D. & C, notices to 16 country newspapers and special lobby display. ^ For the Football Fans Spokane. The Orpheum will do anything. At the Gonzaga-Washington State football game Sept. 25, a record crowd of 12,000 ogled a figure in long nigthshirt and night-cap walking across the gridiron between halves. When he came closer to the stands, words on the shirt became visible; 'I'm A night owl. Late show tonight at the Orpheum.' It got a big laugh from crowd. What's in a Name Cleveland. Present craze of contests 'naming- something-or-other' was legitima- tized in a unique 'Name-a-theatre' contest for Warner's new nabe house that out-classed every other bally- hoo stunt of season for perfect tie- ups, ■ Being built in Shaker Square, heart of wealthy suburb.' theatre won't be finished until mid-winter and is still nameless. Syd Dannen- berg, Warner p. a., thought up neat stunt of niaming it that got a quick okay from Nat Wolf as well as co- operation of morning 'Cleveland Plain Dealer.' Prize of $100 is offered for best suggestion along with explanation or reason in 25 words or less for it. Winner to be guest-of-hdnored, dined and wined at opening, too. Paper went to town for stunt, giving it three-week daily run, as a circula- tion good-yrill builder. Answers ran up in the genuine thousands, three stenogs needed to open and sort out entries. System of judging suggestions was worked out BETTY ALLEN HELD OVER PARAMOUNT, NEW YORK THIRD WEEK—NOW Paramount Short in Preparation Vitaphon* Short to Ba Released This Month CONDUCTOR VIOLINIST 2nd Tear—Sben'a Buffalo "A first late presentation wllh Arse very food as fiddle colora- tarist. Foot bews—that's »p- ' plaiise."—'Boffalo Times. ^OR SAUc—uirrowN theatre, "OTidence, B. J. 1,45* ae.ts. ITor- fv. . manared by KeUli-Alkee ^^rP' Saorlfloe for «iiick sale. Terms. WB DUMPING MORE DIXIE THEATRES by Dannenberg to avoid any talk of favoritism. , Titles only were typed off in lists of 500 each, corresponding to staclced letters, so judges-, would not be in- fluenced by entrants' names. Whiskers for Zola Norfolk, Va, A beard growing contest among the male students of the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary has been started by Man- ager Pierre Buologne of the Norva theatre as build-up for 'The Life of Emile Zola,' which begins Oct. 22. As reward for the bearding the Norva is to give the 15 most success- ful growers two passes to the show. Moore's Big One Fort Worth. Clever exploitation stunts were used by Marsline K. Moore, man- ager of the Hollywood theatre for 'Stella Dallas' in competition for the Samuel Goldwyn $1,000 in prizes. Among them were: A man dressed as Santa Claus bearing k sign: 'Shop Early and Then See 'Stella Dallas' at the Hollywood.' Flags on seven tall buildings. Three sheets pasted to the lobby floor. A trick mirror lobby display. Many curb signs all over town. Pavements signs at corners. Cabs carrying signs. Plane with loudspeaker. Girls on bicycles, each one with a letter from pic title. Hankies given to women before, opening with hunch it would be needed at show. Many window tie- ups, among them one with Wool- worth and Montgomery Ward, the latter giving out heralds in all packages. Five 24-sheet cutouts on sidewalks about town. Small fence on curb in front of theatre. Radio announcements and gobs of news plants. These included 8-col. strip five consecutive days in press. One entire shopping column carried puffs. Elliott Roosevelt and wife guests at preview. T, C. U. band played for it. Mayor on hand, and other notables. Show ran eight nights and seven days, second longest run ever scored at • this theatre. Business big. Theatre Changes Omaha. In view of-compromise settlement reported month or so ago District Judge Ffank Dineen last Wednesday dismissed without prejudice foi'e- closure suit on Paramount brought by Omaha National Bank against A. H. Blank Theaters Corp., Tri- States Theatres Corp, and Creighton University. Action returns theatre to Blank control. Evert Cummings, district manager for Tri-States, announced possibility of opening theatre is im- decided. Infantile paralysis epidemic of past six weeks thought to have nullified any possibility of house opening. Past two seasons house has opened during fall season and re- mained dark rest of year. Relinquishing operation in various parts of the south where its chain is spottily represented, Warner Bros, has just turned over ihe Broadway. Charlotte, N. C, lo the Kincey-Wilby interests, this elimination in its theatre empire of around 30Q houses following disposal of certain houses in Kentucky. The Charlotte theatre is a first-run house. In Kentucky two theatres^ at Dan- ville were taken over by the Soutiiio Theatres Corp., a Paramount sub- sidiary in Ohio under management of Tracy Barham, while theatres in Owensboro, Edison, Fulton, Mayfield and Henderson have'^been acquired by Malco Theatres, headed by M. A. Lightman. Malco, with headquar- ters at Memphis, operates in Ten- nessee, Arkansas and Mississippi and is a Paramount partnership. In all instances the theatres are completely taken over from Warner Bros,, removing this distriubtor en- tirely from operation in the situa- tions involved. WB has felt that these southern towns presented operating problems since the houses were so separated from other units of the chain. WB is retaining its M'emphis hold- ings, according to the home office. Detroit All Set to Admish Tilts Ranging from 15-40%; Trendle Idea Hot and Cold Hollywood, Oct. 5. Harold Lloyd passed up Carol Hughes as femme lead because she's 'too hard' for the part. Actress claims she lost many parts because she was consid- ered 'too soft.' ST. LOO POLL SWINGS F&M MORE TO DUALS RKO-Par Pool in Upper N. Y.; Par-Levy Extend Coincident with consummation of a pooling arrangement in Yonkers, N. Y., between RKO and the Para- mount-George Walsh interests, with RKO having operating control, the closed Broadway in that town has been reopened for week-ends. The- atre will play pictures Fridays, Sat- urdays and Sundays.'Under the pool five houses are affected, the Proctor, Strand,' Central, Park Hill and Broadway. The five-year operating arrange- nrient between the Par-Walsh group on the^ one hand and Eugene Levy on the' other, which has two more years to go, has already been ext tended an additional 10 years. This covers the Broadway, Ritz, Cameo and Park in Newburgh, N, Y., where Levy has been an independent op- erator for years. The Par subsid- iary over this and other upstate towns, Netco theatres, is headed by Walsh, who is in active operation of the chain of 18 houses. St. Louis. Frisina Amus. Co., Springfield, III., plans 700-seatei- in Effingham, 111., where it now operate the Effingham, l.OOO-seater. T. E. Wilhoit erecting new house in Plattsburg, Mo. Headquarters of Sparta Theatres, Inc., recently incorporated by Steve Farrar, O. L. Turner and J, T. Gas- kin, located in Orpheum Theatre Bldg., Harrisburg, 111. The Modernistic, Onarga, 111., for- merly operated by Irwin Gromoll, acquired by Kerasole.s Bros, of Springfield. 111. George Kerasotes will manage house. New theatre being completed by Creighton & Shaver, Kewanee, III., is being readied for October Opening in Keithburg, 111. The Hollywood and Lyric, down- town houses in St. Louis, reopened. Both shuttered during summer be- cause of no cooling systems. Grand, Sparta, III., now under management of Egyptian, Amus. Co.; formerly operated by Charles Wells. Mrs. J. D. Williams, who owns Liberty, Union, Mo., is planning an- other house for same town. Steve Farrar and Oscar Turner have opened Cozy, Vienna, III. Fred McLaren, owner of Ada, Monmouth, III., disposed of house to Red Johnson. McLaren also has taken over Ada, Hoopeston, 111., 460- seater which he intends remodeling. Flora Amus. Co., Flora, III.., plan- ning new 500-seater as competish for the Florence and Orpheum. operated in the same town by John Spaulding San Antonio. Jack A. Pickens, Jr.. of Jack Pick- ens Theatres. Inc., here, opens his San Marcos theatre Oct, 7, and on the following Thursday will open the new Cuero house. Fire destroyed the Pearsall theatre in Pearlsall last week. House was owned by Gidney Talley. operator of the Ritz. colored theatre in the Alamo City. Lynchburg. New theatre seating 1,000 will be built In Danville. Va.. by General Guarantors Corporation of N. Y. Theatre-Press Declare A Truce in Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln, Oct. 5. Truce came out of the 12-week difference between the newspapers and theatre row here when Lou Finske, division manager of the J. H. Cooper Enterprises, conferred with Joe W. S^acrest, ad manager of the Journal and Star, and the dift was called off. Originally started when the news- papers asked for theatre row rev- enue up to a year ago, or would have to raise rates. "Theatres said nix and asked for a reduction from the $3.70 rate asked. Papers jacked to $3.80 and the theatres went to billboards and throwaways, cutting paper ads completely or to the bone. Under new setup, $3.80 slays on with rate goiiig down to $3 per inch for more than 50 inches weekly per house, which amounts to about equal concession. Papers nov.' go back to pix house support which had been withdrawn. Deal also takes in the Westland Theatres, City Manager Milt Overman having withdrawn for them at the same time. . . St. Louis, Oct. 5. While final tabulations have not been completed in Fanchon & Marco's poll of the likes and dislikes of patrons in 31 theatres it owns and controls in St. Louis and St. Louis County, there has been a decided swing to two-feature programs, with stage shows, in the last few days. First returns showed customers of nabeS were satisfied with two fea- tures while those Who patronize the de luxe houses wanted their enter- tainment to consist of one feature, selected shorts and stage shows. Now the first run theatre frequenters are switching to two features and the ratio of the entire voting is about 2- to-1 for stage shows, with vaude acts predominating. Philly Drive to Attract 80,000 Hard-of-Hearing Philadelphia, Oct. 5. Campaign to add 80,000 hard-of- hearing patrons to film-attending public here has been started by Philadelphia Motion Picture Forum. Group has issued appeal to ops of leading houses to install hearing aids for" deaf. Only two Philly the- atres now have such equipment—the Fox and the Terminal. Rosamond G. Wright, chairman of hard-of-hearin£ committee of Forum, said aim was to have at least a dozen houses in the territory Wired with hearing aids, Advent of talkers, she said, has deprived deaf of chief form of amusement. j HMNt w ntninwimHintHiiiiiHiHiMtmitnwiniiihniitiinitiniMiiniwiiiHtHiniMltmiiiutnuiiMwnwtitwtiiHiBWimttnmliHll^ lltlUMIIIIIHHIIIIIItlllMllllltlllll iniHHIUIIIIMIinillMiniliniUIIIIMlMllIIMIIIIMMHIIIIIIIIimMHUIIirUMIIHIIIHIniHMMfllllllHIIIfHIIIIIlinilltlllllHIIimillHHHIirtlUIUIllllmHHHIIIi' New York Theatres z \aiMiiwiHiUHimtu>iHiiHiiiniiHMtliiiiUiiiiiiiiiMtnirMiiiiiiMiiMiiMniiuiiiitiiini)niiiHiMi»iiiiiiMiiiiitiitiijiMHiiuim •intmiiiiMmiiiiiiiiiiiMiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMMiiiiiiiiiiiiiMniiiMiMiiiMiiiiihiiMiiriMiniiiiMiiuiiiiiiniiiiiMiiiiMiniiiMniiiiiniiMiHMim Detroit, Oct. 5. General admish boost, ranging from 15-40%, is hanging fire here, and awaits only okayof a few hold- out exhibitors before going into effect. Agitation, led by George W. Trendle, prez United Detroit (Par) chain, is gaining momentum and an early , hiking of admishes is expected. First-runners, of which Trendle operates four of town's six, are be- hind the proposish to a man, but are wary of uppin^ prices unless nabes join in; thereby avoiding a possible boycott of bigger houses in favor ot nabe spots. As now planned, admish would be jumped from 65c. top in town's four big houses to 75c. The advance, ex- hibs figure, will just about take care of increased cost of product, labor, etc. Size of boost for nabes hasn't been fully worked out as yet. Some of operators seem to favor a boost from the current 25c. top to 35c„ which is thought too steep by other exhibs. A majority feel a 20% (or 5c.) to 30c. top, would be just about right for payees' purse. There are ' few dissenting voices against the proposed boosts; and fewer who believe the increases will have an appireciable effect on the b.o., what with boosted auto payrolls and higher prices on about every- thing else. Hamilton, O., Oct. 5. Tracy Barham, general manager S o u t h i 0 Theatres, headquartered here, has upped admissions 5c. at the Paramount, Rialto and Palace here, and the Paramount, Sorg, Strand and Gordon, at Middletown. Children's admission hiked from 10 to 15c. Sundays and holidays. This is the first price boost in this terri- tory for past several years. $20,000 THEATRE BLAZE Salt Luke City, Oct, 5. A $20,000 fire destroyed the Holla- day theatre Wednesday (30). About 50 patrons fled the building unin- jured. Nels Hansen, owner, and William Newman, projectionist, suf- fered minor cuts and burns. House is located la a suburb of Salt Lake City. N.O. Downpour Ruins B.O. New Orleani?. Oct. 3. A cloudbui'st in which 12.25 inches of rain fell, paralyzed are theatre business here Saturday (2). The rain began falling at 3 p.m. Friday and continued most of Saturday. Transportation and power lines were crippled and it was not until late in the afternoon that service was restored. The deluge for a time spread ap- prehension as to the approach of a tropical storm which was brewing south of the city in the Gulf of Mexico. In a number of instances theatre managers brought sandbags into play to keep the water which had risen above street curbings out of the lobbies. The Tulane-Auburn game was called ofT, too, because the Green Wave's stadium here was under three feet of water at the time. ••BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936'^ I'letrlier Ifenderfton Orcheutrn SurtliiK (Tliurs., Oct. 7) the New York Stuffe, HU. "l>EAl> KND," hC ropulnr PrlceH. Horace Heldt un«1 OrclieHtro TMi At. * Itih M. ROXY AIX OK« TO ''Life Begins in College" THE KIT% HItO.S. Specliil Htiiir« Attmctloii ^^.^«/MUNI/. PARAMOUNT/"™ HKI.n OV£R 3np WCIBk IJ!4 PERS<>NI taoht Club 'High, Wide and HandBome' Iron* Dunnfl Randolph Scott Boyi Hudson D«Lang« Band BASIO CITY MUSIC HALL "STAGE DOOR" Sp»cta«ular Stag* Prerfu*ti«na PAT O'BRIEN r^tim.miij'~''^^m BLONDELL ^trO^f*^^''^* Opens 9:35 a.m. FUN - FROLIC . ROMANCE • RHYTHMt "THIS WAY PLEASE" A Paramtunt Picture With CHA8. (BUDDY) ROfiERS, BETTY QRABLE. NED SPARKS, FIBBER MiQEE, Mi MOLLY Mi MARY LIVINGSTON Criterion I 25c ^ BS*ay4 451h8t. I 0»M» t •.M. Mlililflit Shaw* I t( I P.M.