P«r 70 INCREASE MIDWEEK BUSINESS Vncle George Introduces Novel Plan; Newspaper and Merchants Cooperate BEECH GROVE, IND.—"Uncle" George Marks, who has been operating the Grove Theatre on weekends only since it was reopened, has launched a Midweek Movie Club plan designed to open the theatre two of the other four days—Wednesday and Thursday. Marks credits a January 19 BOXOFFICE editorial, "Let's Fill 'Em Up," with moving him to take action on this plan which he had been considering for some time as a possible solution to a small-town theatre's poor midweek attendance. "Your editorial on the midweek problem moved me to action, with what results, we will know later," Marks wrote to Ben Shlyen, publisher of BOXOFFICE. "I had been kicking this idea around for a long time, patterned somewhat after the Community Concert Series, which sells tickets to concerts in advance. Most of the time the buyers have no idea of who or what they are going to see. If they don't buy a series ticket in advance, however, they cannot buy a single ticket at the door the night of an individual performance. To avoid such disappointment, they buy the series ticket. Perhaps I'm a dreamer to think people will cherish motion pictures that much, but with the incentive of a price saving, it might work." Marks' "price saving" incentive is to offer Midweek Movie Club memberships to adults for $1 and to children under 12 for 50 cents. In retm-n, members will be admitted to the Grove Theatre on each Wednesday or Thursday for a month. Only membership ticket holders are to be admitted on these nights, no single admission tickets being sold on Wednesday or Thursday at the Grove boxoffice. Marks' first challenge was to sell the idea to his local newspaper editor, then to the Beech Grove merchants—enlisting the aid of all these forces in selling the club plan to the 5,685 citizens of Beech Grove, a community a few miles southeast of Indianapolis. "I got my editor, Louis Luckenbill and his associate, Don Powers, enthused about the idea," said Marks. "The result was a front page story." Luckenbill and Powers, who well-remembered the dark days in Beech Grove when the Grove Theatre had been shuttered on a seven-day basis, saw good reason for giving Marks a four-column front page story under a two-line head. Stressing that inauguration of the Midweek Movie Club plan depended upon sale of 500 tickets, the story carried in their Perry Township Weekly said that the plan would benefit everyone. "Patrons will benefit by lower prices," said the newspaper's story. "The theatre will benefit by knowing it has sufficient audiences to keep the theatre open; the community will benefit by having an open theatre, a place When 45 Beech Grove, Ind., merchants and citizens ran this ad CALLING ALL CITIZENS! in the local paper YOU CAN HELP NOW TO to support his new midweeli policy idea, "Uncle" George built more Keep the goodwill by sending each sponsor a "thank you" letter. THEATRE OPEN IT WILL BE EASIER THAN TRYING TO REOPEN IT IF FORCED TO CLOSE By Joining The Mid-week Movie Club Plan ANDATTHESAMETIME ENJOY GRE+T MOVIES AT BARGAIN PRICES! lUL Hl.'R(-H\SP A MEMBERSHIP DICOUNT llCKt-f K'OR (I ID . Far Wulu' OR »/ i QiilA r.nL-idf. U THIS TlOrr WILL \OMlT 10LI fO THE aRO\% E\ER\ WEDNESDAY OR IMIHM>\> l.mUNbMONTH.TIIISBRINGS THE f BICE UF h\CM \DMtSSION TO 2S, FOR ADLLTS - 1>',f Tu KIDDIES. MID-WEEk SMO«5WILL E.\r) NO LVTf-R TH.\N9 3(1 P M HILT AL)L LI>HM (l\1t \S.LATE^S7.» \NDSEE \lX)MPl-ETESHO\V \S THE FIRST FEATURB WILLDt HtrtATtD .SINGLE TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD -O.NLY THOSE WITH A MIt>- »EtK DIbCOL NT TICKET IMLL BE \DMITTEU. .TlCt*tTSO-NS\LE AT GROVE THEATRE! SOc prr Monih Umkt 12 8u) \out Tiduu Today uid Ulp Franwu Bach C*n« YOUR TICKET NOWl f^ oi^rptiL»u*» »;m« mnr Tf" 4.1. • um >;=?§?" .-— V.r-? 6R0VE HERE'S HOW PARENTS: THE FOLLWING MERCHANTS AND CipZENS URGE YOU TO BUY where wholesome entertainment Is available to children, teenagers and grownups. "If the theatre remains closed four days a week it puts the responsibility of maintaining a theatre in Beech Grove on business done on weekends. In other words, three-day operation is required to do what normally takes seven. If the weekend operation cannot do enough to pay for the seven, the theatre would have no alternative but to close its doors. Those who remember Beech Grove without a theatre undoubtedly do not want this to happen again." PARENTS' SUPPORT URGED Beech Grove merchants also well-remembered the business repercussions to the town during the days when the Grove Theatre had been shuttered. When the Perry Township Weekly editors, at Marks' suggestion, set out to sell a full page cooperative ad supporting the Midweek Movie Club plan, 45 merchants, officeholders and prominent citizens of the town quickly pledged themselves to pay for the ad. It appeared in the January 31 issue, outlining the plan and especially urging parents to buy membership cards for their children because the theatre provides a safe place off the street and a wholesome environment in which neither necking nor rowdyism are permitted by Marks. "Whatever the outcome of the plan," wrote Marks in a followup letter to BOXOFFICE, "it is generating considerable comment in our Immediate area. Our weekend business has picked up, due, I believe, to the extra comment, publicity and interest in our efforts. THEATRE PATRONS RETURNING "Another immediate result is this: patrons stop to compliment us on our show and they add, T hope your midweek plan works.' Others stop and tell us, 'This is the first time I've been out to a motion picture in months, but we thought we'd come down and see what all the fuss was over.' They, too, are complimentary, and, I hope, new patrons." Marks started the sale of membership tickets at his boxoffice. Following appearance of the cooperative ad in the local newspaper, however, the participating merchants volunteered to put the membership tickets on sale in their respective establishments to help Marks sell the 500 memberships that will enable him to inaugurate the new Wednesday-Thiu-sday policy.
Weekly Ads Stress Big Screen^ Big Pictures, Big Stars
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Ft /ne TuAe m me /vi&to&n. Mctu/ie
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MS k-/1V)rtAi< S. ». . F' WAKE UP
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READY NOW WIT ERGMAN PICTURE
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F^6^ o^tAe //l(>twn reduce /^tdiuh/
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MPAA Industry Study To Be Comprehen
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— ' Hollywood Neglecting Big Musi
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)F 47.000.000. ..AIMED TO REACH EVE
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Ha^/e you e^er seen svet ^^HOLPiNG
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— Asks Standardization Of Small S
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. — TECHNIRAMA, the spectacular n
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! Lowest priced speaker ever offere
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BOXOFFICE :: February 16, 1957 25
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Program Announced For Concessionair
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HOW TO WIN NEW PATRO And Cultivate
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' New Scotland. N. Y„ Airer Openi
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.rJ^iJ,:.: For Sharp, Straightforwa
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. . Francis . . . Albert ' Memorial
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. . Mrs. . . The . . Salesman . . G
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' NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE PRODUCTION
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Six Shows Sold Out At 'Bailie' Prem
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For Sharp, Straightforward^ Focus
- Page 45 and 46: . . Theatre John . . The DENVER T y
- Page 47 and 48: WB) — Grosses Hold Firm On Chicag
- Page 49 and 50: AN EDITORIAL "ONE OF THE FINEST and
- Page 51 and 52: I For Sharp, Straightforward^ Focus
- Page 53 and 54: . . Ted . . Russ . . Wolf . . Manny
- Page 55 and 56: Memphis Subs Open But Strike Goes O
- Page 57 and 58: AN EDITORIAL Fort Lauderdale Daily
- Page 59 and 60: For Sharp, Straightforward^ Focus
- Page 61 and 62: CHANGE . . . TO Your "WATER-HOG FLU
- Page 63 and 64: k Final Dance Slated At Texas Concl
- Page 65 and 66: AN EDITORIAL "ONE OF THE FINEST and
- Page 67 and 68: 7 GREAT DOUBLE BILLS BOOK THEM NOW
- Page 69 and 70: ! People who go places like a light
- Page 71 and 72: Dubuque, Iowa, Avon To Close on Apr
- Page 73 and 74: . AN EDITORIAL "ONE OF THE FINEST a
- Page 75 and 76: For Sharp, Straightforward^ Focus
- Page 77 and 78: . . Frank . . Hialeah Optimists Fet
- Page 79 and 80: — Variety No. 3 Installs New Offi
- Page 81 and 82: For Sharp, Straightforward^^ Focus
- Page 83 and 84: — . . . Phil . . Robert . . Eddie
- Page 85 and 86: Charge on Weekends For New Smoking
- Page 87 and 88: — — —— — — 'Anaslasia'
- Page 89 and 90: For Sharp, Straightforward^ Focus
- Page 91 and 92: Maritime Testimonial For Patrick Ho
- Page 93 and 94: . . . Georges . . Phil . . Press .
- Page 95: _ \ '"' • ALPHABETICAL INDEX •
- Page 99 and 100: University Sponsors Art Festival Ev
- Page 101 and 102: ^ A %M M E 1^ y «• D V V Feature
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- Page 105 and 106: -11. li — — — m XHIBITOR HAS
- Page 107 and 108: Opinions on Current Productions ^EA
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