Variety (Dec 1938)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

20 VARIETY PICTURES TTeclnesdaj, December 28, 1938 EXPLOITATION Pay-as-You-Ieave Clicks Philadelphia. Pay-as - you - leave-i£-you-like-it basis on which Harry Fried played *Man to Remember' at his Suburban last week proved highly successful. Although not everyone stepped up to the b.o. on the way out, enough people did to give him a better than average Tuesday, despite the fact that'it was pre-Xmas week. Fried tried the stunt because the BKO pic was getting swell word-of- mouth whever it was playing, but never did any business at any of the spots. He figured—and apparently rightly—that in such a case they'd be more willing to pay on the way out than the way in. Par's 'Streamlined' Press Books Bob Gillham's advertising depart- ment has turned out the first of Paramount's new simplified press- books, recently announced as 'streamlined for service.' The first one—on 'Artists and Models Abroad' —can be read without clearing ofF the top of a desk. It's 12 x 15, 38 pages, including the covers, with no color work. Gillham describes it as a 'down to earth sales manual,' and that seems to be just about what it is —with synopsis, cast, credits, sales ;slants and cut on the front page, with 10 pages devoted to exploita- tion, 11 to ad layouts, seven to mats and six to accessories. The idea is practical. Frills are completely lacking. It may. take time, though, to convince sorne ex- hibitors that a pressbook without half an acre of art work means it's a 'B' picture. WoUaston Shoots Works Harrisburg, Pa, E. G. Wollaston of the Victoria put over a three-way street ballyhoo, radio and newspaper campaign on 'Smashing the Spy Ring' (Col). Ten newsboys gave away 3,000 tabloid newspapers downtown opening day. This was followed by a Boys' Club Oparade • with band. Advance cam- Ilaign included posting 40x60 in. en- argement of J. Edgar Hoover in -Iront of theatre with tieup copy; free fihger prints in theatre lobby; 2,000 two-poimd bags with tie-in copy from Murphy's store; 85 silk, badges %yom by Woolworth girls; two girls talllrtg telephone subscribers advis- ing them to see picture; Harrisburg News Co. trucks carrying copy with Ace mag. ..On the radio Ed Rosenbaum, Co- lumbia exploiteer. was interviewed on WHP's 'Little Brown Book' pro- gram; a contest with ticket prizes on John Kronhite's WHP program; dail" spot announcements on WKBO with special plug on Paul Walker's WKBO quiz program. Coach-Railroad Bace A 45-mile race between one of the original Baltimore & Ohio locomo- tives and an old stagecoach is sched- uled for today (Wednesday) starting at Cumberland, Md. The highway parallels the railroad. There will be three changes of horses. Billy Fergu- son cooked ,up the stunt as a tieup for M-G's 'Stand Up and Fight,' based on the early history of the B. & O. The Chamber of Commerce at Cumberland and civic bodies paid for the stunt, the B. & O. furnished the equipment and helped in the dis- tribution of 5,000 cards in stations and elsewhere. Newspapers in the region have given plenty of space, and the newsreels have cooperated. Here's a New One! St. Louis. Here's a new one—^publicity .fac- simile by air. It didn't reach many people— there are only 30 receivi sets in homes—but it was an idea. Stores and brokerage offices, hotels and other spots are getting interested. Les Kaufman of Fanchon & Marco looked over the first Post-Dispatch nine-page newspaper sent out over station W9XZY and decided it needed film news and photographs. He hot-footed it around to the Post- Dispatch with a still from 'Ride a Crooked Mile' (Par) which was slated to open at the Ambassador and landed a full page in the Dec. 8 issue of the first air paper. Looks like a new field in the offing for film exploitation. College Boys Aid Stnnt Atlanta. Theatre managers whose houses are near colleges or high schools with fraternities can use stunt worked by Hudson Edwards; mana- ger of Lucas & Jenkins'.Fox, in con- nection with 'Brother Rat.' Fox is practically around corner from Georgia Tech and Edwards in- vited frat boys to build, in booths, mttfiiouhiiiiiii miiinHiiiiuiuiiiiiriiiiMiiiiiniiiiiniiiiitiniiiMiiiiiMiiiiiiiiHiitiiniiniiMiimitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniimuinniiMiiiMiiiiiiiiMMtiiiiiium mmumm ^lUiituuiiHMttiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHUiiiiiuiiiutiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiMiniimiiiiiiiuuuiiiiiuiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiHiiiHiiinniiiiiiiiMiiiin iiiimiuiuiliuiuiiuiiiiiiiiiiiu 3 Ne<M; York Theatres li StiHiiiuruiuiiinitiniHiiiiiiuMUitHniiitiiii mnniiRiuiiiiutliuiiiiiiiiiiiiMuiiiniiiiniM f th At. ft Mtfi St. ROXY (BElATS 25* 'Kentucky' —On the StaK^— Kew StaE« Shoir Jack Benny Joan Bennett 'ARTISTS and MODELS ABROAD' GLEN GRAY and hii Cam Loma Band Extra Attraction Andrew* Hlstera &ADIO MUSIC HALL "TOPPER TAKES A TRIP" Spectacular Stago Production* TOnAt ONLY "OUT WEST "S^ HARDYS" And VAUDJCVIIXID 'starts Thurtday ["The TOUNO ' In HKABX" In Person TAVIj and Ills BHTTHM BODEO m M-G-M's TECHNICOLOR UUSICAIj Jeanetto MacDONALD .sr.'SWEETHEARTS'] at* t»lp.m. at all llmaai inlrinlt* ah^w rnlsht II'wairaiitf4«Ui*U •varyi CankliKMiM Pwrfennaiwea, P«»y|ar Pricaa 'YGM ALIGN YIGIOBT TAKES SPACE Hollywood, Dec. 27. . Victory Pictures, headed by Sam Katzman, leased space at Progres- sive studios for Interiors on the Tim McCoy starrer, 'Code of the Cactus.' their ideas of what the living quar- ters of a college man should—or does—look like. Collegians had some novel Ideas and th^ir efforts drew more than^ passing interest. Cost of stunt is measured by the best prices a man- ager can get on three loving cups— silver or otherwise. A good-sized lobby is required. Beaches Football Crowd Dallas. Fred McFadden, publicity man for the Texas theatre, topped his 'Cow- boy and the Lady' (UA) campaign by using the Highland Park loud- speaker system between halves of the Highland Park - Gainesville championship football game to plug the film. Idea can be worked for other sports or big gatherings. En- tire receipts of the Interstate and Consolidated theatres were for refugee relief. Stations WRR used five daily plugs starting six days in advance; KRLD (Times Herald-Columbia) used a transcription Tuesday and Friday morning, and .WFAA (Daily News- NBC) used four daily plugs starting three days in advance and carrying over Sunday afternoon. Theatres—Exchanges St. Louis. L. E. Cord, Murray, Ky., has let contract for new house. Kerasotas Bros., Springfield, 111., purchased site in Peoria, 111., for new $80,000 1,000-seater to augment the Beverly in the same town. Ansell Bros., who recently ob- tained a new lease on Empress, St. Louis, reopened house after remodel- ing at cost of $20,000. About $25,000 will be spent re- modeling the Capitol, Waterloo, la. Mort Singer will modernize the Iowa. Waterloo, la., at estimated cost of $15,000. National Theatre Supply Co., St. Louis, will furnish equipment for a 400-seater in Jersejrville, 111., and a 650-seater in Quincy, HI. Malco Theatres has,started a new house in Jonesboro. Charles McMahon & Son, Padu- cah, Ky., have been awarded con- tract for new theatre at Muray, Ky., for L. E, Cord. Fred Wehrenberg has taken over Southway and Lemay, South St^ Lquis. Leo Lau, Jr., is ihtereste<ii in both. V. P. Moody, Mountain Grove, Mo., to rebuild Cameo, recently damaged by fire. Commonwealth Amusement Co., Columbia, Mo., headed by Mayor Rex Barrett, is making alterations. Riverview Theatre Corp. will erect $90,000 1,000-seater in northern part of St. Louis. Fred J. Brinkmeyer represents corporation. North Side Theatre Co. has award- ed contract to Sol Abrams & Son. Construction Co. for $25,000 house on outskirts of St. Louis. Philadelphia. Allen Lewis, manager of the Dante Theatre, was named 'Star* (prez) of the Showmen's Club here at last week's election. Others chosen were Charles Beilan, 'Stand-in* (v.p.); Frank Hainmerman, 'Yes Man' (sec- retary): Jack Little, financial secre- tary; Dave Yaffe, counselor, and Mike Felt, Larry Mackey, Ray P'Rourke, and Bill Porter, members of the board of producers (direc- tors). Stonehurst, shuttered several weeks for alterations, reopened. Owner is Charles Klang. WB Nixon, West Philadelphia, dark since early summer, reopened. New Orleans. Gaiety, one of oldest nabes in con- tinuous operation, will celebrate sil- ber jubilee Jan. 15, when newly- remodeled house is opened. The theatre opened in 1913 by Joseph Convertie, has been operated by Nick Evola and Frank Rufflno since 1934. During most of its history the subsequent run Gaiety has changed programs daily, and has charged 10- 15c. Seats 850. San Francisco. George N. Montgomery, special rep of Grand National Pictures, has taken over management of the local exchange, replacing ,H. Bradley Fish, resigned. Montgomery was for years owner of the AU-Star Featiures ex- change in Los Angeles. Detroit. Dave Martin and Ted Hathaway, ex-Michigan theatre here, named managers of houses in Southern Cal- ifornia, operated by Fox T^est Coast theatres. Martin now piloting the Paramount, Hollywood. Schenectady, N. Y. Joseph Shure, manager of State, Schenectady, shifted to Albany office of Fabian circuit as chief booker for its upstate links. Guy A. Graves his successor at State. Los Angeles. Kurt La'emmle bought the Glas- sell theatre. Eagle Rock, and will operate it along with his recent pur- chace, the Franklin. B^way Legit O^Kay (Continued from page 1 noon, 'Sing Out the News' and 'Knickerbocker Holiday.' Revival of 'Blossom Time' lists four matinees, but is not rated for important coin, having a pop scale and bargain tickets. 9 Shows for Straight Plays Nearly all the straight plays are holding to nine performance sched- ule, exceptions being 'Kiss the Boys Goodlpye,' which has four matinees, and will hit a new high, also 'Out- ward Bound.' Because of its juve- nile draw, 'What a Life' is playing every afternoon but has been cut- rated for some time. Standouts like 'Abe Lincoln,' the dramatic leader, and 'Oscar Wilde' are playing one extra performance. Newcomers ar- riving, during the .week are playing regulation performances and mostly using usual scales for the Eve. 'Hamlet,' in full length version, is the only success which will not play an added performance during the holiday week. Because of its run- ning time, more than six times weekly is hardly possible. Scale for the 'Eve showing will be $4.40 top. just F»ir In N. T. The three-day Xmas weekend downbeat augurs mildly for New Year's biz in New York, chiefly be- cause of the Sunday curfew hour of no music after 3 a. m. Reservations are coming in all over in a pretty good ratio, and quite favorably com- parable to the dawn of '38, but the anticipated last-minute rush is in the laps of chance. The hope is that, as last year, when a spot like the Para- dise ' was taking Eve reservations from 9 a.m. on, on Dec 31, the same thing will occur this 31st. The 3 a. m. curfew, for drinking isn't as" much a worry as is the dansapation, because once the music stops the tempo in the joints must subside. It's 9II been figured out, of course, that lockers for storage of beverages, advance orders for buck- ets of wine, the 'bottle club' gag (as done in London) and other little wrinkles could well get around the law against selling after 3 a. m. But the music thing is something else again. Ch^ef bugaboo, of course, when the joints talH about 'fixing' things with the local precincts, is not what the civil authorities might do, but what the Alcoholic Beverage Control board could do, if it chose tq get technical. Revocation or suspension of liquor licenses is the prime bogey- man to the boys, if ever tempted to get out of bounds. To the many gadgets used as biz getters on New Year's Eve, the Tower hotel, in Brooklyn, has sched- uled a filming of its entire shindig. The takes will be screened later by request. The recorded antics of its patrons will be projected on sub- sequent nights when the requests total 10 or more customers. Coast Looks Big Los Angeles, Dec. 27. On the ragged edge for the past few months for reasons undeter- mined, night club biz is due for a brisk spurt over the holiday week- end and operators have stocked up for the three-day killing, hoping-to wipe out some of the accrued deficit. What happens after that is more apprehensive than conjectural. Come what may, the entrepreneurs will see the New Year in with tongues in cheek. Tariff for the big night is slightly oflE bumper years. Highest tap is $12.50 a head which Earl Carroll Is getting for his nevy spot. Cocoanut Grove, Trocadero, Biltmore Bowl, Victor Hugo and Beverly Wilshire have scaled the bite down to a 10- spot. In former years these inns got as high as $15 for a night of revelry in their grottoes. Most of the lesser and smaller sites are asking $5 and $7.50. Checkup of the first string niteries indicates little lack of enthusiasm among, the celebrants. Never In for- mer years has it looked like such a cinch sellout. The big night, com- ing as it'does with two days of grace to get back in shape for the job, in- sures a heavy turnout. On top of that there'll be thousands of out-of- towners around for the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, which will be fought out on Monday. And if any other incentive is needed there'll be a goodly mob of spenders in from the east for the Santa Anita race meet, which gets going Dec. 31 for three months of fancy stepping. Most of the night spots will try to hang on for a few months to cut it on the biz attracted by the Frisco fair,'which is unveiled Feb. 12. Lo- cals are pretty generally agreed that visitors to the expo up north will pause longer and spend more- in these precincts than in the vicinity of Treasure Island. Phllly in a Spot Philadelphia, Dec. 27. What's going to happen New Year's eve, with Pennsy's strict Sun- day laws prohibiting sale of liquor after midnight on Saturdays, is the big problem currently annoying Philly nitery operators. Couple of the late spot owners asked Mayor Wilson'and the Liquor Control Board for opinions on the matter last week, which the ma- jority of other operators feel was a tactical error. .On the spot, be- cause the Saturday shuttering hour is actually part of the law, not merely a police regulation, officials had no choice but to issue state- ments that New Year's eve must not dlflfer from other Saturday nights. it is the general opinion that had no questions been asked, everyone could have gone quietly ahead and remained open as late as he chose without official cognizance being taken. ^ With the nitery season here this year the worst since repeal, spots are highly dependeiit on what they do New Year's eve. Reservations to date are below past years, although tariffs are approximately the same. Arcadia - International and Jack Lynch's .are demanding $7.50 per' person cover charge, which includes supper, while Benny the Bum's levy is $6. Most of the smaller spots are asking $3 to $5 fees. Mpls.. Leblangs Rates Minneapolis, Dec. 27. Taking cognizance of slack times and tightened purses, local night clubs have reduced their New Year's eve prices. Despite drop, however, advance reservations are consider- ably oft from pia^t few years. Hotel Nicollet Minnesota Terrace, Twin Citys' class spot, is charging $6 per person, including dinner and mu^ic by Joe Reichman's orchestra. Last year the tariff was $7, but a pint of imported champagne was tossed in. The same hotel's grand ballroon^ advertises a $4 dinner and entertain- ment by Rfed Nichols. Other of the class spots have mini- mums ranging from $1 to $5. Vast majority of niteries are advertising no cover charge or minimum.. Only stage shows in town New Year's eve are Ethel Barrymore in 'White Oaks* at the Lyceum and pop vaudeville at the Palace. • The Orpheum*is en- tirely without stage entertainment. D. C.» Annapolis Woes Balto Blx ■ Baltimore, Deb. 27. Plenty of squawking here by local showmen about effect of Sunday- closing laws on New Year's Eve fes- tivities. Because of Saturday night curfew for theatres at midnight and niteries at 2 a.m., year-end whoopee jvill have to take an early powder unless Police Commissioner Robt. Stanton softens up on present atti- tude. Requests of theatres for per- mission to run midnight shows have' been tiu-ned down with positive as- sertion that niteries will also have to adhere stricly to the 2 a.m, belL Newspapers have gone to town in an effort to liberalize edict against theatres pointing out incongruity of noR-drinking, non-stepping revelers with a half a buck to invest in New Year celebration, being shunted off to bed, while gayer elements of freer spending propensities getting a two- hour edge for more hectic doings. Nearby towns, particularly Wash- ington and Annapolis, advertising for local trade and pointing out their advantages for stayouts .and local amusement peddlers are doing a considerable burn. Symphony in Discord Los Angeles, Dec. 27. Suit to recover two musical shorts Was filed by I. M. Nobel in superior court against Symphonic Films, Inc., Frederick Feher, Edward Pavaroff, Egon Brecher and the William Lab- oratory. Pictures, 'Beethoven's Concerto' and part two of 'The Unfinished Symphony* are In possession of the Williams lab. Onliwon Towels and Tissue COMPLETE WASHROOM SERVICE