Boxoffice-January.03.1953

.
.
:
January
Silver Reports Big 3
Pittsburgh Giveaway
A Theatre Goldmine
Shower of Passes Adds
To New Year Eve Gaiety
A gala New Year's eve midnight show attracted
a big house for Elmer DeWitt, manager
of the Valentine Theatre, Defiance. Ohio.
DeWitt advertised the distribution of free
hats, horns and a balloon shower of theatre
pa-sses.
In conjunction with a local service organization,
a free kiddy show was scheduled during
the week prior to Christmas. Mailer Bros.,
operators of the Valentine, gave the use of the
theatre gratis. The film companies supplied a
cartoon show at no cost, and the club provided
free candy for every child attending.
The free show is an annual goodwill promotion.
Stencils on Sidewalk
Ballyhoo Playdates
For lost Worlds'
/ Z LOST '
/HfOIILOS
N
Z PLUS t
. COLLEGE .
M. A. Silver, left, presents check ior
SI. 000 as part of citywide jackpot to
winner George Neff, center, as Jack
Eahn holds winning ticket.
According to M, A. Silver, zone manager
for Warner Bros. Theatres in the Pittsburgh
area, the "big three" promotion giveaway reported
recently in BOXOFPICE accounted
for the largest attendance ever realized
through a giveaway in Pittsburgh.
The "big three" prize was a -six-room ranch
house, a $3,200 Hud.son car, and $1,000 in cash
—all three gifts being awarded to one person.
Twenty-one local theatres were involved in
the tieup which was engineered by Jacques
L. Kahn. circuit ad director. The campaign
embraced saturation newspaper advertising,
television and radio .spots, circular distribution
house to house, theatre displays, sound
trucks, and newspaper co-op ads by the merchants
who tied in on the deal for ten weeks
prior to the giveaway.
To allow ample time for theatre patrons to
register, three registration nights were set
aside for the purpose, requiring a theatre
admission. On December 4, the night of the
giveaway, all the theatres were hooked up by
a single phone circuit enabling a patron in
any one of the 21 houses to win the "big
three" prize.
The citywide promotion engendered incalculable
goodwill for the theatres when it was
announced that the winner was a laborer
with children, two of whom are .serving with
the armsd forces in Korea.
Gas Range Promoted
Jerry Baker, manager of RKO Keith's Theatre
in Washington, promoted a $360 Roper
automatic control gas range as a giveaway in
his campaign on "The Lusty Men." The 50
Roper dealers were given a lobby credit card.
Each used window display signs plugging the
picture and the giveaway. Baker made a lobby
display centered around the gas range.
Castle-Like Theatre Front
A false front used during "Ivanhoe" at the
Kingston (N. Y.) Theatre boasted simulated
castle walls, sheilds and other medieval
paraphernalia. Manager Joe Sommers promoted
two quarter-page co-op ads from neighborhood
merchants, and had an usher garbed
as a Roman warrior out on the streets for
ballyhoo.
High School Students
Attend 'Stars' Show
To exploit "Stars and Stripes Forever."
Christma.s attraction at the Embas.sy Theatre,
Fort Wayne, Ind., Manager Sam Greisman
made up a striking display piece which he
placed at one end of the lobby facing the
entrance.
Students from four local high schools attended
a special screening on Monday following
Christmas. They paraded to the theatre
en masse, headed by four bands.
Thirty students from the dramatic cla-ss of
the James Smart Jimior high school were
guests of the management and made a tour of
the theatre from projection booth to basement.
Essentially a public relations project,
each student wa.s required to prepare an
e.ssay on the tour for grading on the .subject.
The newspapers publicized this promotion
with stories and a photo.
Clergy Sees 'Quiet'
For "The Quiet Man" at the Holland Theatre,
Bellefontaine, Ohio. Manager Lewis
Thompson promoted a full window display of
Irish music with a prominent record shop.
Thompson invited Wel.sh ministers and the
Catholic priest to be his guests opening day
and the pictiu-e was mentioned from several
pulpits on Sunday.
\ a" A /
V 1/ V/
Sid Kleper, manager of the College Theatre,
New Haven, has sidewalks stenciled with
foot imprints of a prehistoric monster to exploit
"Two Lost Worlds" and "Unknown Island."
and built a flash front for current
ballyhoo. He distributed 100 window cards
and 3,000 .special heralds in neighborhood
schools.
One thousand balloons with picture and
theatre copy were distributed to news carriers.
Boy Scout troops and at playgrounds.
Station WELI sponsored a two-day anagram
contest, and .spot announcements were purchased
on WBIB and WYBC.
Kleper set up window displays with travel
agencies on the street level and placed directory
ads in downtown hotels and beauty
salons. Restaurants were supplied with placesetting
doilies imprinted with cuts advertising
both pictures.
For street ballyhoo, two boys dressed in
prehistoric costumes strolled amidst the shopping
crowds three days prior to opening and
during the run.
Newspaper ads and all copy .sold the double
feature program as "the all-time thrill show."
BOXOFFICE NUGGETS
George Landers, division manager for E.
M. Loew's Theatres, Hartford, Conn., screened
"Invasion. U.S.A." for representatives of the
Hartford Red Cross, civil defense, and city
executives. Mayor Joseph V. Cronin issued
an official proclamation designating the week
of December 11 as I*revent Invasion Week.
Local newspapers published pictures and
stories.
Passholders who receive privileges from
Statewide Drive-In Theatres, Inc., San Antonio.
Tex., find the pass enclosed in a novel
greeting card signed by Arthur Landsman,
president of the operating company. Landsman's
message reads. "Season's Greetings .
Our gift to you ... A full year of the finest
entertainment at Statewide Drive-In Theatres,
etc."
Ed Richardson, manager of the Granada
Theatre, Cleveland, built two large display
pieces to pre-sell "The Quiet Man." Litho
cutouts were pasted to the display which was
surrounded by stills and headed with copy.
"They called him 'The Quiet Man,' but ..."
The Lakewood Post devoted a front-page
story to the announcement of a classified ad
contest.
Bob Walker, owner-manager of the Uintah
Theatre, Fruita, Colo., booked a lineup of December
attractions having strong family appeal
and advertised the shows through calendars
and regular theatre promotion. The
films included popular favorites such as "My
Friend Flicka," "Smoky." "With a Song in
My Heart," "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair."
"Tembo." etc. The calendars were printed in
traditional red and green ink symbolic of the
holiday season.
28 — 4 — BOXOFFICE Showmandiser
:
3, 1953