Modern

Courtesy, Service, Enterfainment,
Key Wometco Drive for Business
Business may be off a trifle, according to
Col. Mitchell Wolfson, co-owner with Sidney
Meyer of the Wometco circuit in Florida,
but there is no reason for Wometco employes
not to provide patrons with the utmost
in service, courtesy and consideration.
Wolfson recently addressed managers of
the circuit through a letter explaining that
the Wometco enterprise was built on a foundation
of courtesy and cordiality. Courtesy,
service and entertainment will be the slogan
for rebuilding business and attracting new
patronage to the Miami theatres.
With Arthur Price, exploitation director for
the circuit's subsequent run theatres,
spearheading the drive, managers are busy
lining up extensive campaigns and promotions
aimed at building grosses.
Gene Race, manager of the Cameo Theatre,
Miami Beach, developed an idea that
created plenty of attention for his booking
of "Miss Grant Takes Richmond" and helped
to cement good relations with local high
school students.
Race had 3,000 cards imprinted with consecutive
numbers in sets for boys and girls.
These were distributed to students with instructions
for them to wear them and try
to find someone of the opposite sex with
the corresponding number. Couples who succeeded
in pairing the matching numbers
were treated to free eats at a hamburger
specialty shop and a free show at the Cameo.
The cards included complete details of the
tieup with mention of the picture playdates,
providing Race with 3,000 walking advertisements
for his show. The restaurant
shared the cost of the cards and supplied
Girl Mimics Jolson
A La Larry Parks
Harold Bignall, assistant manager of the
Sterling (III.) Theatre, carried out an idea
suggested by projectionist Earl Keiser, which
stimulated boxoffice receipts on "Jolson Sings
Again." Bignall had a young woman appear
on stage prior to the running of the "Jolson"
trailer, mimicking facial and body
movements in accompaniment to Jolson records.
The woman was made up in blackface,
her pantomime closely following the songs
as they were amplified over the house public
address system. Between songs, the playdates
were plugged over a microphone hookup.
The stunt was well received by the
audience.
Bignall also arranged a loudspeaker unit
on the marquee canopy so that people passing
the vicinity could hear records and spot
plugs of picture tunes and playdates.
Promotes 'Jima' Co-Op
Stanley Blackburn, manager of the Orpheum
Theatre, Omaha, promoted a fullpage
newspaper ad in the Omaha World
Herald on "Sands of Iwo Jima." Rank's, an
army-navy store, featured the ad in connection
with a special sale.
the food to W'inners as its share of the tieup.
P>rice completed a tieup for the Cameo
Theatre which resulted in the outright sale
of 1,000 tickets to the Pood Fair, a leading
market in the community. The store purchased
the tickets for a showing of "Christopher
Columbus" and distributed them to
children who accompanied their parents on
a shopping trip to the store. The youngsters
had to present a color sketch of a
scene from the picture which had been previously
distributed via a printed herald,
According to Price, the 1,000 kids were accompanied
by their parents accounting for
additional revenue.
Harvey Fleischman, district manager for
the Wometco suburban theatres, directed
managers under his supervision to use a
reminder stunt for "Pinky." Theatre doormen
distributed pieces of string as patrons
entered the lobby. A trailer was flashed
on the screen advising people in the audience
to tie the string around their fingers
to remind them of the "Pinky" playdates.
Fleischman conducts exploitation meetings
each week with managers taking over the
chairmanship on a rotation basis. At a recent
meeting called for the purpose of discussing
campaigns for "Prince of Foxes"
many suggestions were adopted.
Some of the ideas to be incorporated Into
the campaigns: albums with stills and captions
for lobby use, bookmarks for distribution
at schools and libraries; displays of
fencing weapons, etc., manager's personal
endorsement letters and street ballyhoos consisting
of mounted riders dressed in medieval
armor.
Newspaper Sponsors
Contest on 'Forsyte'
Builds 'Savage' Front
Fred Lentz, manager of the Athena Theatre
in Athens, Ohio, used an attractive atmospheric
front to exploit "I Married a Savage."
A banner was constructed across the front
featuring an art display and large cutout
title. Side pieces featured cutouts and stills.
Admiral Distributor
And WMPS Assist
'Port' at Memphis
The outstanding promotion arranged by
James McCarthy, manager of the Warner
Theatre in Memphis, in behalf of "Port of
New York," was a two-way tieup with radio
station WMPS and the local Admiral radio
distributor. The station conducted a twoweek
contest for the best answers to the
question, "What was your most exciting moment?"
with Admiral furnishing radios as
prizes. The contest resulted in dozens of
air plugs daily. Elaborate still displays and
credit cards were set with every Admiral outlet
in town.
Additional radio promotion included announcements
during the Sugar Bowl football
game, and plugs on every local station
for a full week prior to opening. Newspaper
cooperation was excellent, with special features
in addition to art and story breaks
on the amusement pages.
Two hundred cards were suitably spotted
around town, with copy :"The Port of Memphis
salutes 'Port of New York.' See, etc."
A fine window display in the local Braniff
Airlines office featured stills and a card
reading, "A Braniff ticket can speed you
to the 'Port of New York,' etc."
Over 5,000 "wanted" heralds were distributed
prior to opening, and a special front
was built for current use, with blowups of
action stills from the pictm-e, and the title
spread across an overhead panel.
Window Tieups in England C
Assist 'Fountainhead'
Two department store window displays in
Lewisham, England, exploited "The Fountainhead"
for A. A. Owen, manager of the Prince
of Wales Cinema. One of the windows tied
in with the Jane Powell dress shop, the other
was set with a doll's house. The latter was
an important tieup since the doll's house, a
hospital for toys, had figured in a press article
and had been photographed by Pathe
News. Curious persons who came to see the
shop had an opportunity to look over the display
plugging "The Fountainhead" at the
Pi'ince of Wales.
Owen tied up with Blindell's toy shop for
F. S. Falkenburg, manager of the Alabama
Theatre in Birmingham, and Emery Austin,
exploiteer for MGM, promoted a newspaper
contest on "That Forsyte Woman" which
received wide local publicity. The Birmingham
News sponsored the contest and publicized
it daily, both in advance and current. a display on games which helped "Any Number
Can Play."
The contest was open to persons who saw
"That Forsyte Woman" at the Alabama A front-page picture and story in the
Theatre. Contestants were required to write Lewisham Journal and Borough News commended
Owen recently for collecting toys for
a letter in 50 words or less, giving their opinion
of "That Forsyte Woman." A plane trip needy children prior to the holiday season.
to Hollywood was promoted for the winner, Owen's appeal to patrons of the theatre was
reservations at a Hollywood hotel, a visit to accompanied by a display of a Christmas
the MGM studios and a sight-seeing tour of tree in the theatre lobby as a collection
Hollywood.
point. The tree was presented to the children
at Lewisham hospital by the mayoress.
Lily May Caldwell, critic for the Birmingham
News, accompanied the winner to Hollywood,
covering the complete trip, which received
additional publicity in the columns of
Bookings on Page One
the newspaper.
Bill Shelton, manager of the Loulsburg
(N.C.) Theatre, has his entire week's attractions
listed on the front page of the Franklin
News, county weekly, through a cooperative
tieup with the publisher. Once each week
the publisher receives a pair of passes, in return
for which the theatre listings are published
every week under a special heading,
"On the Screen." Tlie paper has a circulation
of 2,000 and reaches most of the families
throughout the Louisburg district.
46 —40— BOXOFFICE Showmandiser Feb. 4, 1950