Boxoffice-May.03.1952

NORTH CENTRAL ASS'N INVITES
COOPERATION OF NEWSPAPERS
Smart Business to Ally
With Theatres. Avers
President Mann
MINNEAPOLIS — It's economically smart
for newspapers to line up with the theatres:
together they make for a lively Main street
in any town, and a lively Main street creates
good business for both. This message was
delivered by Ted Mann, president, to approximately
150 newspaper editors and publishers
who attended an exhibitor-publisher forum
on the opening day of the annual North Central
Allied convention here Thursday. The
newspaper representatives were guests of the
exhibitors at what probably was the first gettogether
of its kind in the history of the
motion picture business.
Mann stressed the community of interests
existing between newspaper and showhouses,
tossed some bouquets at Hollywood for the
quality of its product, defended the film industry's
loyalty and morality, and pleaded for
balanced judgment in the handling of items
concerning the film industry.
VERY MUCH ALIVE YET
Mann made it clear that motion pictm-e
theatres are still a very much alive corpse,
despite reports to the contrary that might
have been reaching the newspapers, and
exhibitors are determined to keep it that way.
He said exhibitors realize that TV affords
the theatre its stiffest opposition since the
inception of talkies, but they feel confident
that they can emerge victorious.
He told the newspapermen that the exhibitors
want the newspapers on their side in the
fight.
Mann explained in detail how the well
being of the local theatre is to the home town
newspaper's advantage.
"Actually, there are not two businesses in
any town, regardless of size, which have so
much community of interests as the theatre
and new'spaper," said Mann. "Like the newspaper,
the theatre is a medium of information,
education and entertainment. Take
away the theatre and the newspaper from
the average town and its life would be quite
different and much less
interesting.
KEEP MAIN STREET BUSY
"The theatre and the newspaper both make
for a lively Main street in any town and,
likewise, they both depend on a lively Main
street for their economic success. With the
newspaper's help the theatre draws people
to Main street and when people are on Main
street they buy the products of the local
merchants who are advertising in the local
press.
"Stay-at-homes never have been good
spenders. And when trade falls off advertising
dwindles, and you newspaper publishers and
editors know what that means.
"you newspapermen, along with the general
public, might have been led to believe,
erroneously, that the motion picture theatres
are dead or dying. I am. most happy to repeat
to you that the corpse is a very lively one.
Like automobiles, indoor plumbing, and, yes.
lltti
'Bronco' Star Troupe Joins
Flood Relief Drive
OKUWCC
TECHNICOIO
WPEFBOH
The scheduled premiere ot U-I's "Bronco Buster" at the Paramount Theatre in Des
Moines recently was turned into a fund-raising; effort of the Red Cross and the Des
Moines Register for victims of the April floods. The Hollywood players who had come
on to participate in the premiere rolled up their sleeves and "pitched" for relief.
Chill Wills is at the microphone under the marquee making his appeal for donations,
while awaiting their turn are Palmer Lee, Joyce Holden, Mrs. John Lund, Lund, star
of the film, and Hal Belfer. Lower photo shows the visiting actors with a group ot
Tri-States circuit officials. Left to right are Lund, .\. H. Blank, Tri-Sta4es president;
Miss Holden, Lee, Belfer, and Dale MacFarland, Tri-States general manager. Squatting
are Wills and Lou Levy, U-I Des Moines manager.
television, the movies-in-the-theatre are here
to stay. I am sure this will be good news to
you alert newspapermen who have your
towns' w-elfare at heart. You know what it
means to your paper and you know what it
means to your town.
"If the crepe hangers who predict that this
Johnny-come-lately in the entertainment and
advertising field, television, is going to kill
off the theatre are right, the newspapers, too,
are in for serious trouble.
"Let us speculate for a moment on what
might happen to you and the other businessmen
in your town on the day when the theatre
is killeel off and television takes over—
day we are determined shall never come.
Many people would do most of their buying
by telephone because they wouldn't want to
tear themselves away from their sets, and
present experience is that they buy less than
when they come to the stores and the merchants
suffer. Main street might be more
or less deserted and movies, which now are
pure entertainment, would be used as an
adjunct to an advertising medium. The newspaper
would lose its theatre advertising, but
(Continued on next page)
BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952 NC 81