Boxoffice-January.17.1953
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
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 />
»•:«