Boxoffice-May.03.1952

CHESTER FRIEDMAN
EDITOR
HUGH E. FRAZE
Associate Editor
OXOfFIW
SECTION
PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR SELLING SEATS BY PRACTICAL SHOWMEN
Klaltt in oLiine
We caught part of the four-city
Florida premiere of "Red Mountain"
in Daiytona Beach. It was as pretty
an example of distributor-exhibitor
cooperation we have ever seen.
Paramount had Lizabeth Scott in
the towns for personal appearances.
VVorlung' on a clocli-Ulie schedule to
get the most mileage from the star,
exploiteer Leonard Allen had no opportunity
to get into the towns
ahead of Miss Scott to set up advance
publicity.
The theatre manager at Daytona,
Mark Dupree, a BOXOFFICE
Honor Roll citation man, filled in
the breach. He got the local Chamber
of Commerce hopped up, and on
short notice Mies Scott was booked
to enlist donors for the Armed
Forces blood bank. The city lined
up by building a stand in the downtown
section for the festivities, and
the newspaper and all three radio
stations spread the word that volunteers
would meet and receive a personally
autographed photo from
Miss Scott. To make sure there
were no welshers in the crowd, every
one who showed up at the blood
bank on appointment received a theatre
pass.
Considering the fact that her other
commitments allowed Miss Scott
only a few hours in Daytona, Dupree
and District Manager J. L. Cartwright,
who arranged the press interviews,
did an excellent job in behalf
of the boxoffice and in line with
the industry's campaign for public
relations.
* * *
Adam Goelz, manager of the Hippodrome,
Baltimore, is candid
enough to admit a tieup that failed
to pay off. He got a local radio
station to put a popular program
broadcast on the theatre stage. In
his opinion people will not pay to
see attractions which they can take
in for free.
$1000 Checks in Lost Billfolds Grab
Fronf-Page Space in Allentown, Pa.
A pepped-up version of the old gag of putting
wallets around town containing a pair Enclosed find check for one thousand dol-
will be the happiest couple In Allentown.
of tickets to the theatre, brought front page lars as a wedding gift."
publicity for the showing of "The Marrying The billfold gag was made even more credible
by the fact that Arnold was careful to
Kind" at the Rialto in Allentown, Pa.
Manager Earl Arnold of the Pabian-owned put each item in a different handwriting. The
Rialto, in searching through the lost and note from "Mother" and the check were written
in decidedly feminine hand using green
found articles at the theatre, came upon 120
unclaimed billfolds. He stuffed each of them ink. The receipt was in small script with a
with a letter, written by hand and addressed fine point pen and the marriage license was
to "my dear son Aide," and signed "Mother"; filled out in two different hands, with the
a check for $1,000 made out to Aldo Ray, star signatures of Ray and Miss HoUiday obviously
of the picture, and signed by Alice Ray; a different.
marriage license made out to Ray and Judy Arnold also had a desk set up in front of
HoUiday, and a receipt for a $200 diamond the theatre with a 22x28 sign reading: "Applications
for Marriage Licenses Issued Here."
set.
Arnold wrote "Not Negotiable" on the He obtained 500 license applications from
checks, but despite this, local police and the registrars office and Arnold saw to it that
bankers held a conference and police issued the applications were given out only to people
who personally assured him that they were
a public warning that the checks were phony
and advised the finders to destroy them. contemplating marriage.
City detectives rounded up an "undisclosed He put up a 40x60 blowup of an article in
number" of the checks and held them in the the Philadelphia Inquirer which attracted
detective bureau. The resultant publicity much attention. The headline was "Information
Office Rushed by Marriage-Minded
made the front page of both local papers and
was broadcast over area radio stations.
Girls." The story contained excerpts of letters
The letter from "mother" was written on from girls in Europe, mostly German, who
note paper stationery and read:
were interested in marrying American men.
"I am looking forward to your wedding They were highly interesting and proved of
Thursday, April 17. I know you and Judy vast amusement to the theatre patrons.
Reward Posters Sent
Kansas Showman Gets
Around for 'Wanted'
A quantity of cardboard posters headed,
"Wanted for Murder," prepared by a local Newspaper Breaks
printer, were adroitly used by J. D. Wilbanks, Henry Sommers, general manager of Durwood
Theatres in Leavenworth, Kas., recently
manager of the Wagon Wheel Drive-In.
Spearman, Tex., to advertise "Waco." The received two news breaks in the Leavenworth
posters were distributed to local stores, banks, Times which helped to promote coming attractions.
the postoffice and the court house.
A cut of the "wanted" man and an offer of With "Viva Zapata!" booked at the Hollywood.
Sommers located a local resident, the
$500 for his apprehension were included _
in
the copy.
owner of a letter addressed to her husband
offering him a commission as major in a
counter-revolutionary movement against Zapata.
Sommers took the letter to the editor
Projectionist Animates
of the Times and got a writeup with a paragraph
describing the theme of the film and
Display for 'Stood Still'
A hand-made display sign, with all art work the Hollywood playdates.
done by Manager John Plttman, created When Humphrey Bogart was announced as
strong word-of-mouth publicity for "The Day an Academy award winner. Sommers showed
the Earth Stood Still" at the Central in up at the editor's office early next morning,
Fairbury. 111. The completed display was assisted him in selecting the art to run in the
animated by Tom Bradley, projectionist at afternoon paper, and promoted a paragraph
the theatre, who rigged up a fla.shing eye with informing the readers that "The African
— Queen" was scheduled to open locally the following
Chester Friedman with sales copy.
week.
It's a lot more probable that the
attraction does not have what it
takes or what the public wants.
Goelz comes up with so many promotions
that do pay off, he can console
himself; like the nonexistent
manager who never makes mistakes,
there never was a showman, who was
fortunate enough to realize a bonanza
from every gem of an idea.
BOXOFFICE Shovnnandiser :
: May
3, 1952 — 103 — 31