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Boxoffice-January.17.1953

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Frisco Crowds Gather to Gape<br />

At 'Blackbeard' Street Stunt<br />

Mark Ailing, manager of the Golden Gate<br />

Theatre. San FYanci-sco. tied up with the Call<br />

Bulletin to screen "Blackbeard the Pirate" for<br />

new.sboy carriers on Saturday before opening.<br />

The new.spaper gave the picture full coverage<br />

with pictures and a story. About 1.500 boys<br />

attended the screening and each became a<br />

potential word-of-mouth booster for the flim.<br />

For street ballyhoo, a man in pirate costume<br />

was hired to wheel a treasure chest around<br />

town. He made periodic stops to extract boxes<br />

of candy from the chest which he distributed<br />

to passersby. The candy was promoted from<br />

the Rockwell Chocolate Co. In every 50th box<br />

of candy a theatre pass was enclosed.<br />

Ailing had the "pirate" appear on three<br />

television programs with the chest.<br />

Alan Mowbray, who has a role in "Blackbeard<br />

the Pirate." made personal appearances<br />

at the Golden Gate Theatre on Saturday<br />

and Sunday prior to opening. To further the<br />

cause, the actor made additional appearances<br />

on top radio and television shows over KFRC.<br />

KPIX-TV and KGO-TV.<br />

Two thousand special heralds advertising<br />

the picture were distributed in homes.<br />

Bill Blake, publicity manager for the theatre,<br />

had a hand in setting up the radio and<br />

TV interviews and in an-anging citywide<br />

newspaper breaks.<br />

An attractive front, window cards, posting<br />

in all sections of the city, and a schedule of<br />

newspaper advertising also helped to spread<br />

news of the booking at the Golden Gate Theatre.<br />

All in all. the picture entered on a<br />

successful engagement.<br />

In busy Union Square at San Francisco, a<br />

pirate and treasure chest ballyhoo draws<br />

curious crowd of onlookers.<br />

'Bali' Coverage on TV<br />

Saturation TV coverage on behalf of "Road<br />

to Bali" was keynoted by a ballyhoo campaign<br />

by Paramount, which bought time on<br />

all seven Los Angeles video channels for spot<br />

announcements on Christmas day. The Bing<br />

Crosby-Bob Hope-Dorothy Lamour comedy<br />

opened on that day in seven local houses. The<br />

trailers were tagged "Great Moments of<br />

History With Bing Crosby and Bob Hope."<br />

Television Promolion<br />

Is Cleveland Big Gun<br />

On 'Hangman's Knot'<br />

Radio, television and newspaper promotion<br />

played important roles in exploiting the opening<br />

of "Hangman's Knot" at the Hippodrome<br />

in Cleveland.<br />

Jack Silverthorne. manager, had an excellent<br />

television tie-in which one station used<br />

on four different western programs. A mystery<br />

sentence was voiced and home viewers<br />

were required to identify the name of the<br />

western star in question. The winning answer<br />

was Randolph Scott, co-star of "Hangman's<br />

Knot."<br />

Silverthorne promoted a complete western<br />

outfit for winners and consolation prizes for<br />

runnersup, and managed to get extra video<br />

plugs by awarding passes as prizes on two TV<br />

quiz shows.<br />

The Cleveland radio station sponsored a<br />

"Hangman's Knot" limerick contest, Silverthorne<br />

contributing the idea and a few theatre<br />

passes.<br />

Drawing on a suggestion outlined in the<br />

pressbook, the Hippodrome manager planted<br />

a coloring contest with a local daily which<br />

ran for four consecutive days. "Winners received<br />

gun and holster sets. Fan photos of<br />

Randolph Scott were given to runnersup.<br />

A man and woman dressed in cowboy outfits<br />

distributed lucky number heralds. A li.st<br />

of numbers posted in the Hippodrome lobby<br />

enabled holders of corresponding numbers to<br />

claim free theatre tickets. At peak .shopping<br />

hours, the "cowboy" took up a position near<br />

the theatre entrance and did rope tricks to<br />

collect a crowd.<br />

1<br />

^ke ^J^uman ^actor<br />

The Georgia Theatre Co., which headquarters in .\tlanta, is<br />

celebrating its 25th anniversary with one of its co-founders, William<br />

K. Jenkins, still active as president.<br />

\ brochure forwarded to this department by E. E. Whitaker<br />

calls attention to the fact that most of the company's city managers<br />

have long records of association with the organization.<br />

Whenever a circuit can boast that its manpower consists of a high<br />

percentage of veteran showmen with 10, 15 and more than 20 years<br />

ol service with that company, it is tipping the secret of its success<br />

and enterprise.<br />

Loyalty begets loyalty. In the dollars and cents analysis of<br />

'-<br />

successful business, this is the factor known as the human element.<br />

s It is the individual's contribution "above and beyond" what is<br />

evpected of him in the performance of his daily chores. It is the<br />

factor which makes a perceptible difference in theatre grosses and<br />

S^:^^^^^^^;m^s«:^s^^^^<br />

ixW^MMM.<br />

determines the sentiment of the community toward the theatre and<br />

the management.<br />

* * *<br />

We received an interesting letter the other day from an exhibitor<br />

who recently took over a theatre in a small Wyoming community.<br />

He compliments BOXOFFICE for its helpful service departments<br />

but wants to know how come we do not report the<br />

promotion and exploitation of more theatremen in his part of<br />

the country.<br />

If we did not know the season of the year, we'd hazard a guess<br />

that the exhibitors are on a "roundup" of patrons—or possibly<br />

digging up new ones. 'TennjTate, this is by way of special invitation<br />

to exhibitors and managers in Wyoming to send us their recent<br />

promotions or forthcoming plans to hog-tie more customers.<br />

If we get a good response, we promise to fill columns with<br />

showmanship techniques of the theatremen in the Equality state.<br />

Let's hear from you!<br />

— Chester Friedman<br />

BOXOFFICE Shovimiandiser Jan. 17, 1953 — 13 —<br />

29<br />

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