Boxoffice-December.20.1952

Stencils on Sidewalk
With Bread Crumbs
lis for 'The Birds'
To locus aUciitioii on Sonu'tliliiK for the
[Birds," Joseph Boyle. maniiKer of the Poll
Ixheatre. Norwich. Conn., hud sUiff inembors
Iscatter bread cruiiib.s at key .spots In the
downtown area and chalkmnrk the title of
the picture on .sidewalk.s.
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The army recrultliiK office used a billboard
display of stills with full theatre credits. Boy
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Scout troops were contacted and urged to .see
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the picture and advertise It via word-ofmouth
publicity.
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Postcards with a personal endorsement from
iBoyle were mailed to a .select list of prominent
Iresldents. Die-cut window card.s were dls-
Itributed to stores and posted In clubrooms of
Iveterans organizations, the Elks and YMCA
A still display of a roller skatInK rink wa.s
[erected In the lobby. One thousand heralds
Iwlth theatre imprint were slip-sheeted into
ISunday newspapers by a neighborhood news
I dealer.
The Norwich Bulletin ran a classified ad
Icontest and published advance stories and art.
Ijlmmie Pedace. commentator on the radio
Ishow, Around Town, gave the picture several
I gratis plugs and a friendly disk jockey used
la recording of bird calls on his early morning
I record show. A radio transcription was
(planted on station WICH.
Planned activities In conjunction with
"Stars and Stripes Forever" at the Poll in-
Iclude tieups with the marine recruiting office,
Iveterans organizations, disk jockeys and music
[stores. On opening night, the marine legion
lis scheduled to march to the theatre accomipanied
by several military bands.
[erchont Trailer Lifts
^reholiday Receipts
Nate Krevitz. district manager for Pitts-
Iburg (Calif.) Theatres. Inc.. reports that
Imerchant greeting trailers this year about
Idouble those of previous years. In Pittsburg
land Concord, merchants have shown a willlingness
to cooperate In this form of promo-
Ition which is expected to bolster receipts
Ithrough miscellaneous sources during a period
Iwhen shopping takes a heavy toll on atll
tendance.
^hotos for Cinema Club
The Harborough Advertiser Midland Mall
Irecently devoted almost a full page of photos
Ipromoting the Saturday morning Cinema
Iclub birthday at the Ritz in Leicester. Englland.
Edmund Hague, manager of the Ritz,
land Ernie Page, theatre pianist, organized
Igames for the youngsters, presented birthday
|cards to celebrants and led in singing "Happy
Birthday." Pictorial layout showed various
phases of the activities.
'uzzie Used in England
L. R. Robbins, manager of the Granby
Theatre, Reading, England, promoted a
Icrossword-puzzle herald from a local mer-
Ichant to advertise "Angels One Five." One
[thousand of the contest heralds were dis-
|tributed to patrons in advance of opening,
and promoted prizes were awarded the
winners.
First 'Rain' Contest Prize
Won by Vermont Men
The first prize awarded In the "Slngln' In
the Rain" window display contest co-sponsored
by MGM records and MOM Plcture.s
wa» divided between Leslie Spofford of the
Wilson Music Co.. Rutland. Vt.. and Frank
Vennett of the Rutland Paramount.
Second prize was split by Tlielma A. Robinson
of Orance's Music Hou.se, Athens. Ohio,
ond Ben Oeary of Schlne's Athena Theatre
In that city. Third went to Robert Hunnen
of the O. C. Murphy Co. Harrlsburg. Pa.,
and William J. Trambukis of Locw's Theatre.
Sixteen theatre managers received honorable
mentions and were awarded copies of the
"Slngln' In the Rain" album. They were:
Arthur Murch. North Shore Theatre, Gloucester,
Mass.: manager of the Capitol, Winchester.
Va.; manager of the Orpheum.
Springfield. 111.: Bob Bowman, Warner, Erie
Pu.: Ralph Tully, State. Portland. Me.; Lou
Cohen. Loew's Poll, Hartford: Carl Rogers.
Locw's, Dayton: Walter Ke.ssler, Loew's Ohio,
Columbus: manager of the Center. Salt Lake
City: Manny Winston. Glove. GloversvlUe,
N. Y.: Joe Real. Midwest. Oklahoma City:
Lou Haney. Lido. Maywood, 111.: Matt Saunders,
Loew's Poll, Bridgeport: Vaughn O'Neill,
Loew's State, Cleveland: manager of Post
Theatre, Seattle.
Treasure Chest Pulls
Key-Holders to Lobby
Max Mink, manager of the Palace Theatre,
Cleveland, credits strong promotion with getting
impressive receipts for the opening of
"Blackbeard the Pirate."
Northern Appliance Co. and 20 dealers spon-
.sored a pirate treasure chest contest. Each
dealer contributed prizes which included a
Lewyt vacuum cleaner, five cedarized treasure
chests, string of pearls, etc., and $5 in cash
toward theatre advertising.
In addition, each dealer ran newspaper
co-op ads advertising the distribution of keys
with which to try and unlock the treasure
chest on display at the theatre. Keys were
distributed in manila envelopes imprinted
with theatre copy.
The cooperating stores paid for their own
window dl.splays including posters and stills
advertising the picture.
Mink promoted an exhibit of pirate weapons,
etc.. from the Western Reserve Historical
museum. Gray drug stores used a
large co-op ad tieing in Linda Darnell cosmetics
with full theatre credits, and the Ohio
Buick company ran a large co-op ad .showing
the pirate slashing prices on used cars. The
layout included full theatre credits.
A live trailer w-as used on the Ward-Marsh
television show on Sunday before opening,
and the theatre paid for 21 television spots
on station WXEL-TV.
Usherettes at the theatre were dressed in
pirate costumes a week in advance.
Doctors Use Co-Op
Harry Weiner. manager of the Oswego
iN. Y.) Theatre, promoted a full-page newspaper
co-op ad on "Your Doctor." an RKO
Pathe short subject. Sponsored by the
Oswego County Medical Ass'n. the ad was
prepared in straight copy, endorsing the film
and urging the public to see it at the Oswego
Theatre.
Car Dealers Tie-In
Exploits 'Plymouth'
At Auburn Theatre
'nun- Plyinoiitli-Chry-lir (Irulcr.'i cooperated
with Joe DuSUvu. manager of the
Auburn iN.Y.i Tlieatre, In exploiting "Plymouth
Adventure." Each of the deulerr dUplayed
a 50x30 poster card with htllb In the
center of their window.s and .supplied a new
1953 Plymouth for .street ballyhoo. Banners
on the cars read, " 'Plymouth Adventure" Ls
Just as thrilling as driving the new, etc." A
new car wb.s placed on exhibit In front of
the theatre before opening and during the
current exhibition dates.
DaSllva promoted five jumbo turkeys from
a local merchant and gave them away to
lucky ticket holders on Tue.sday before
Thanksgiving.
The theatreman contacted the superintendents
of city and county schools and made
arrangements to distribute student discount
coupons entitling holders to see "Ivanhoe"
at reduced rate. Personal letters were mailed
to every E^ngUsh teacher In the city plugging
the film and urging their cooperation
in getting the students to take advantage
of the special rate.
A radio station gave the picture gratis
spot plugs immediately following the 6 o'clock
news broadcast, and window displays were
set up in prominent downtown stores.
Ru.ss Bovim, manager of the State Theatre.
St. Louis, Mo., Invited the Society of Mayflower
Descendants of Missouri to bt his
guests at an advance screening of "Plymouth
Adventure." The event was covered by two
St. Louis newspapers, giving the picture some
fine publicity prior to opening.
All local newsstands displayed posters with
copy. "Read the book, then see the picture,
through a tieup arranged by Ray La Bounty,
manager of the Arcade Theatre, Cambridge,
Md., as advance exploitation for "Plymouth
Adventure."
La Bounty distributed heralds imprinted
with a jigsaw puzzle contest in grammar
school classrooms. Children in upper grade
classes received circulars promoting a quiz
contest on the picture.
Abe Ludacer, manager of the Valentine
Theatre, Toledo, planted excellent art breaks
in the daily papers prior to the opening of
"Plymouth Adventure." a Thanksgiving attraction.
Plymouth dealers displayed 30x40 show
cards announcing the picture playdates and
provided new' cars for street ballyhoo. The
cars conveyed couples dressed as Puritans
around town during rush hours.
Another "Puritan" couple distributed 10.000
tickets for a drawing of free turkeys at the
theatre—the tickets and turkeys supplied by
the Plymouth firm.
Distributes Broch ures
Brochures illustrating production settings
and star backgrounds were distributed by
Howard Hlgley. manager of the Allen Theatre.
Cleveland, as part of his promotion for "Because
of You." Free souvenir booklets were
given to the first 500 women attending the
theatre on opening day.
BOXOFFICE Showmandiser :
: Dec.
27, 1952 — 295 — 43