Boxoffice-October.01.1955

. . The
. . Our
: October
. .
Outline for Drive-ln Fun Day
Lots of Contests for Mom. Pop. Kids
Are Feature of Wometcos Jamboree
Format of Labor Day Program Offers Tips
For Staging Halloween Festivity
Wometco's four drive-in theatres at
Miami planned their Labor Day program
as a group this year, with Burton Clark,
veteran Boulevard Drive-In manager, as
the coordinator. Managers J. C. Cunningham,
Oran Cohen and Del Powell assisted
in the planning and put activities into operation
at the 27th Avenue and the Coral
Way in Miami. The other airer was the
North Andrews in Fort Lauderdale.
Clark put in more morning-till-midnight
days than he cares to count on the ambitious
program and ended up "not just up to
my neck in details, but over my nose." Just
one of his last-minute chores was an 80-
mile roundtrip to the edge of the Everglades
to pick up in his trailer seven bales
of hay! The hay was for one of the contest
stunts.
LONG TRIP FOR HAY
"Kind of hard to find baled hay around
here," said Clark, who says he figured he
must be in the trackless wilderness when
he finally found where they baled it up.
He asked the man in charge of baling
where a certain road led. and was told the
man didn't rightly know as he'd only lived
thereabouts 12 years and had only been
down the road a short piece.
This year marked the seventh annual
Liibor Day celebration at the Boulevard
Drive-In, and every one with fireworks.
Due to proximity of business and residential
buildings, the other circuit airers
have to forego fireworks, and this may,
Clark said, be the last year the Boulevard
will be able to shoot them off. The city
is gradually growing too close to the
Boulevard for safety from skyrockets.
The Labor Day program featured a lot
of contests with commercial sponsors supplying
some very fine prizes. Screen mentions
for four weeks in advance provided
publicity for spon.sors and program.
CIRCUS STYLE ADS
Wometcos art department came up with
gala, circus-style ads on the Labor Day
jamborees, the regular screen shows having
a separate .space to themselves in order to
underline the fact that regular film fare
was on hand as usual, in addition to the
big fun day.
The airers opened at 4 in the afternoon,
so that everyone had a chance at the
contests, games, prizes, free balloons and
entertainment by clowns. Children were
invited to take free rides on a fire engine.
First event was the Mr. Pop Corn contest
for gentlemen only. Fathers were fed popcorn
by their kids— all they could hold
before competing. But it was worth the
stuffing for a try at the prize, a Skll drill
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The whole program, Clark said, was de-
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WOMETCO Drive-ln THEATRES
One of the circus style ads used for the Wometco
circuit's Labor Day program at its Miami driveins.
This ad was two columns wide.
signed so that the adults participated, assisted
by their children. Thus the whole
family, not just the children, was able to
take part. Prizes, if not the fun. made the
effort attractive.
Second event was for women only and.
literally, was a hunt for a needle in a haystack.
That's where Clark's baled hay
came in. Ladies had previously been asked
to register for the contest, and there were
already more than 30 signers at the Boulevard
alone a number of days before the
event. Idea of signing up, Clark said, was
to give the management a chance to suggest
that the ladies wear shorts or slacks
and save their dresses. The needle-finder
was well rewarded for that hunt through
the haystack, however. A 21-inch TV set
was the award for this event.
In a tie-in with WINZ. their three top
disk jockeys made in-person appearances
at the three local airers. Bob Landers was
at the Boulevard. Jerry Wichner at the
27th Avenue and Kirby Brooks at the Coral
Way. Very popular locally, especially with
the younger set. these radio personalities
conducted bop dance contests, with prizes
for the winners.
The stunt, however, which drew the
biggest laughs, was one which patrons at
the three airers provided for themselves. A
— 308 —
$35 basket of groceries was awarded to the
driver of the passenger car, arriving anytime
up to 5:30, carrying the largest number
of passengers.
An evening display of fireworks, courtesy
of the Hygrade All Meat Frankfui-ters Co.,
was the Boulevard's program-ender before
the regular movie show.
Asked if he wasn't pretty worn out by the
Labor Day festivities, Clark said: "Oh,
that's over. What we're planning now is
Halloween."
Own Film of Scout Trip
Added to Sunday Bill
"Maybe this is the answer to our product
shortage." commented Ralph B. Mann, city
manager for Fi'ed T. McLendon Theatres
at Monroeville, Ala., in reporting on the
success of his own 38-minute film on a Boy
Scout trip.
Tongue-in-cheek or no, Mann already
has shown his opus to 2,0000 persons in
Monroeville, and arranged to make the
print available to about 3.000 school children
in town. Here's the way it came
about:
Mann recently made a trip to Washington
with 45 Boy Scouts, and took along
enough film to shoot the entire trip in
16mm color film. He edited it, titled it.
and wound up with 38 minutes of continuity
which he called "After Three Years."
It played his theatre for one day only, a
Sunday, along with "So This Is Paris" at
regular admission prices.
His ad copy read, in part. "See . . . Our
Boys as They Visit Our Nation's Capitol .
Our Congressman, F^-ank Boykin . . . Historic
Monuments . Changing of the
Guard at Arlington . Boys at Work,
The Pentagon. Ti-avel With
at Play . . .
Them on the Trip That Helped Change
Our Big Boys Into Little Men!"
County Fair Shifts Its
Auditions to Theatre
Ray Leveque is one manager who knows
how to turn opposition to his advantage.
This year the Herkimer County fair at
PYankfort. N. Y., featured a program of
activities in connection with the three-day
run. As there was nothing Ray could do
to keep people from going to the fair, hej
joined 'em.
In connection with a talent contest beingl
held at the fair, Ray talked the officials!
into holding auditions on the stage of the|
Capitol at Ilion. Tliere were two auditions,
plus an appearance of the winning|
amateurs at the fair's completion. This
has meant a great deal of publicity for
Ray and the fair officials cooperated by
running 3-colunm. 5-inch ads in the search
for contestants.
Mokes Front Page
Sal Adorno sr.. • general manager of
M&D Theatres, Mlddletown. Conn., landec
front-page space for a back-to-school shov
he and his assistant. Michael Adorno. hel(
at the Palace Theatre. Admission was frei
to the Saturday kiddy matinee.
BOXOFTICE Showmandi.ser :
1. 195