Boxoffice-July.01/1950

CHESTER FRIEDMAN
EDITOR
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HUGH E. FRAZE
Associate Editor
SECTION
PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR SELLING SEATS BY PRACTICAL SHOWMEN
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Smart Showmen Press Prison Angle
For 'Caged' in Lobbies, Ballyhoo
A well-planned campaign set up by James
Eshelman, district manager for United Paramount
Theatres in Buffalo, and Charles Taylor,
ad-publicity director, paid off on "Caged"
WOMANS PRISON !
when it played the Center Theatre.
All advertising and publicity copy carried
the two phrases, "The true story of a woman's
prison today," and, "Attention! 'Caged'
is not recommended for children, but is a
must for adults." Two weeks prior to opening,
stories and art broke in the Sunday
Courier-Express, the Buffalo Evening News,
the Polish Daily, and some 25 community
and out-of-town weekly papers.
Supplementary copy was added to the regular
trailer, and cross-trailers were used in
affiliated theatres in the city. Advance lobby
displays graphically depicted highlights of
the dramatic action in the picture. Miniature
heralds were distributed in Buffalo flat trailer, had it driven around the city
beauty parlors to sell the woman's angle. streets as a dramatic ballyhoo.
A ballyhoo truck posted with 24-sheets
traversed the city streets a week prior to
opening. Twenty-four-sheets were posted on prior to
all important highways leading into the city.
Silk screen fluorescent cards were displayed
on the dashboards of 200 street cars. A local
news distributing company displayed 11x16
cards plugging the playdates in magazine
stores and on newsstands. The cards tied
in a story by Eleanor Parker which appeared
in Screenland.
Newspapermen, radio representatives and dates.
— Chester Friedman the display board at right.
Recently, the Veterans of Foreign
Wars asked Louis Nye, manager of
the Hoosier Theatre, Whiting, Ind.,
to help plan and stage their annual
Flag Day program at the theatre.
With his customary interest in comm-unity
affairs, Nye agreed. At the
height of the ceremonies, Nye was
called to the stage. SURPRISE!
The V.F.W. annually awards a Distinguished
Citizen Plaque. The most
outstanding citizen of the year in
Whiting was Louis Nye.
Editorials in half a dozen papers
reported that Nye was commended
for "his general spirit of willingness
and cooperation in all worthwhile
projects for the betterment of the
community." The citation was for:
Bond selling; promoting and directing
the yearly Clean-Up campaign;
preventing vandalism and delinquency
in youth by conducting
proper entertainment and sponsoring
with ministers and clergy the
Kiddie Club; arrangement of special
activities for Hallowe'en, Christmas,
New Year's, Easter and Good Friday
Interdenominational Services;
Chairmanship of the Loyalty Day
Parade; Chairmanship of the promotion
of the Resuscitator Truck
and equipment for the City of Whiting;
procurement of lighting for the
soft ball field; aid in Boy and Girl
Scout Membership Drives; in veteran
fund-raising projects, and for
his general and willing assistance to
many community committees, youth
clubs and service organizations.
City officials including the mayor,
military officers, veterans and merchants
paid extra tribute to the
Hoosier manager at a banquet following
the presentation.
A few years ago when Nye arrived
in Whiting, teenagers and
the young fry were making things
miserable for the theatre and businessmen.
There was a heavy toll
of property damage due to vandalism.
Under Nye's leadership, the
merchants set up a program of activity
which long ago earned the
cooperation of the youth and the
respect of the businessmen.
Here, then, is an answer to exhibitor
relations in the community.
Public service does pay off, whether
it be in a metropolitan center or a
small Indiana town.
After exhibiting this prison cage in the
lobby of the Stanley, Philadelphia, for a
wreek. Manager George Balkin set the entire
display, including girl models, on a
city officials attended a screening ten days
opening which provided good wordof-mouth
buildup. Betty Garde, one of the
stars in "Caged," appeared in Buffalo a few
days prior to opening. Her appearance was
tied to the Courier-Express safety contest,
yielding valuable publicity for the Center
booking. Miss Garde was interviewed by local
newspapermen and radio editors for additional
publicity in connection with the play-
At left is a spectacular front used by Jerry Zigmund, city manager for United Paramount
Theatres, when "Caged" played the St. Francis Theatre in San Francisco, left. At right,
lobby displays used by M. D. Cohn, manager of the Paramount. Kansas City, played up
the sensationalism and expose angles of the picture. Magazine pages were utilized lor
BOXOFFICE Showmandiser July 1, 1950 — 225 — 35