Boxoffice-October.27.1951

Lucky Star Night Is
Cued to Birth Dates
To Make It Legal
Merchandising Tieups
Promote 'Hoffmann'
G. Williams, manager of the Regent Cinema
in Chatham, Kent, England, arranged merchandising
tieups through window and counter
displays on "Tales of Hoffmann." Williams
succeeded in getting two of the
costumes used in filming the production and
had them displayed by Chatham's leading
fashion store, with appropriate theatre
credits.
The theatre used extra newspaper advertising
to promote the exhibition dates, and
the paper reciprocated by using two separate
star cuts along with publicity stories.
A sandwich man covered three adjacent
towns, with appropriate signs, and 30 threesheets
were posted in strategic locations in
Chatham. A laundry cooperated by posting
signs on six vans which make deliveries in
the area.
Ad Budget for 'David'
Stretched to Limit
Of Dollar Value
P EC H
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Gertrude Tracy Reynolds, manager of the
Parma Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio, recently introduced
a new boxoffice stimulant which
she hopes will overcome all legal objection
where "chance" is involved.
The new theatre promotion is a variation
of other cash devices but is based on the
birthdate of the participant. Patrons are
invited to register in the Parma Theatre
birthday book. On game night, a double
wheel is placed on the stage. One wheel includes
the 12 months, the other the various
days of the month by number from 1-31.
Volunteers from the audience spin the wheel
to determine who gets the weekly birthday
prize.
Mrs. Reynolds advertised the promotion for
two weeks in advance. She used a trailer
featuring a birthday cake, lighted candles
and an appropriate musical background.
A teaser display board was placed in the
lobby with a question mark and copy, and
later replaced by another announcement
board lettered wtih full information and inviting
patrons to sign the birthday book.
Seven thousand special heralds were distributed
house to house over a wide area to
reach people who do not usually patronize
the Parma. Trade name for the promotion is
Lucky Star night.
Des Moines Disk Jockey
Uses Contest on 'People'
Tony Abramovich, manager of the Des
Moines (Iowa) Theatre, tied up with disk
jockey Bob Earle for a contest which
drummed up excellent publicity for "People
Will Talk." Earle announced that any woman
who would phone ten friends and tell them
that "People Will Talk" was opening at the
Des Moines Theatre would receive a free
ticket to a morning matinee. To qualify,
listeners had to list the names of persons
called and mail them to Earle at the radio
station.
Earle presided as host at the morning
matinee, and coffee and cookies promoted by
Abramovich were .served to the guests.
Ball Team and Car
Ballyhoo 'Angels'
Frank Manente. manager of the Esquire
Theatre, Toledo, arranged a three-way tieup
with the winning team of the Boys' club
neighborhood baseball league and a new car
agency to ballyhoo "Angels in the Outfield."
A new convertible was obtained from the
auto dealer and bannered with copy, "We're
on our way to the Esquire to see 'Angels' etc."
The boys team, in baseball uniform, occupied
the car as it was driven about the business
and residential sections of Toledo.
Manente promoted 20 gratis announcements
over radio station WTOD, and used
them before opening and during the run.
Cards lettered with copy, "After the game,
see 'Angels in the Outfield' . . . Esquire, now"
were placed in taverns and restaurants where
the world series was shown on television. The
cards, in each place, were set next to the
television set where they received an ample
share of attention from spectators. The
stunt resulted in additional patronage at the
Esquire boxoffice.
Lemon Lozenges in Bags
Raise Interest in 'Kid'
A lobby contest and the distribution of
several thousand lemon drops enclosed in
glassine envelopes imprinted with copy helped
'The Lemon Drop Kid" for Robert Zielke,
co-owner manager of the Bruce (Wis.) Theatre.
A jar of lemon drops was displayed in
the lobby and patrons were invited to guess
the number of lozenges in the jar. Those
coming closest to the exact figure received
free theatre tickets to see "The Lemon Drop
Kid."
'Egypt' Idea in Column
Sam Greisman, manager of the Jefferson
Theatre, Fort Wayne, Ind., planted an idea
with Cliff Milnor, columnist for the Journal-
Gazette, which resulted in a half-column
writeup on "Little Egypt." Greisman suggested
to Milnor that there were probably
many people in Fort Wayne who had seen
Little Egypt at the Chicago world's fair in
1893. The result was an interesting story,
with many readers rising to the bait and
submitting their own recollections of the
attraction. Milnor maintained a steady flow
of copy on the subject for several days.
Ray Boyea, manager of the Mohawk in
Amsterdam, N. Y., made the most of his advertising
budget for "David and Bathsheba"
to gain maximum ad penetration at minimum
expense.
The Dick Haymes recording of the title
song was given to the local radio station and
was used gratis both before and after paid
spot plugs.
Two record shops used full window displays
and placed large banners over the
entrance, with the picture and playdates
getting top billing. The lobby entrance doors
were covered with special art panels a week
prior to opening and elaborate setpieces were
prepared in advance to serve double duty as
an attractive front for current exploitation.
Three-sheets and six-sheets were posted in
choice locations in town and on main highways
leading to the city. A teaser trailer was
used before the regular trailer and then was
and used at
supplemented with a date strip
the affiliated Schine Theatre in Amsterdam.
Special brochures obtained from the film
distributor were given to school principals for
distribution in classrooms. Boyea planted
advance readers with the weekly papers and
obtained additional space for feature stories
and art in the daily.
Ten Youth Clubs See
'Hornblower' Trailer
Robert Rowley, assistant at the Savoy
Cinema, Luton, England, conducted a fullscale
campaign on "Captain Horatio Hornblower."
He obtained a 16mm trailer from
Warner Bros., and on ten successive days,
arranged screenings before youth groups of
Luton and the district. Four leading chemists
used special window .space to promote the
picture, tieing in Corvette toilet articles and
lotions. Two windows were obtained in book
shops by tieing in the sale of books.
The Corvette distributors, in connection
with a national contest identifying various
Briti.sh ships of the line, made 3,000 circulars
available which included picture cerdits. A
15-foot display in the theatre lobby helped.
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38 — 244 — BOXOFFICE Showmandjser
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: October 27, 1951