Boxoffice-April.07.1958

La
. . Dennis
. . Sperie
. . Allied
Academy TV Program
Big Hit in Boston
BOSTON—Exhibitoi-s, distributors and TV
he mentioned the emceeing of Bob Hope and
Jack Lemmon and the 'old movies' capsule
with DonaJd Duck.
ENTITLED TO TWO BOWS
critics of this area all agreed that the lirst
industry-sponsored Academy Awards show
was of top quality.
Tony La Camei-a, the American's television
editor, called the telecast "a very good show,
profiting from such assets as suspense, drama,
emotion and humor." He considered the
evening's highlight the song-and-dance patter
of Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster and
"The motion picture industi-y is entitled to
at least two bows, " Camera added. "One
for putting on a good show and the other for
footing the entire bill, so as to enable us to
watch almost two hours of top television entertainment
without even a spot commercial."
Arthur Fetridge, writing in the Herald,
said, "The movie industry of Hollywood put
on a television show last night that it could
well be proud of. Sparked by Bob Hope at
his best and four other masters of ceremony,
it proved to be good entertainment as well
as pleasing to those who have seen the winners
on the screen."
An active committee of publicists and exhibitors,
headed by Edward S. Canter of
American Theatres Corp., worked for the
success of the evening locally. All Boston
papers, as well as those in the smaller cities,
used slugs in their movie ads plus a series
of daily readers on the telecast. This city's
largest theatre, the 4,200-seat Metropolitan,
operated by New England Theatres, promoted
ten Motorola TV sets which were set up in
the grand lounge of the theatre. The management
turned off the showing of the regular
feature at 10 p.m. giving time for those
who wished to view the telecast from their
homes time to arrive and allowing those who
wanted to watch the program from the lounge
to remain in the theatre. Of the 600 patrons
in the house, about 150 availed themselves of
the opportunity in the lounge. Spontaneous
applause and laughter broke out many times
as the audience was clearly enjoying the
show.
Many of the suburban theatres promoted a
TV set or two for their lobbies, also shutting
off the regular show at 10 p.m. and inviting
patrons to remain in the lobbies if they
chose to.
EFFORT WORTH WHILE
The next day Edward Canter said,
"All the
effort expended in publicizing 'our own
night' was worth while. We accomplished
our purpose, which was to draw attention to
the Academy Awards, to make it a 'listening
must' for all."
Ben Sack, owner of the Gary Theatre where
"Bridge on the River Kwai" was in its 14th
week, and owner of the Saxon Theatre where
"Around the World in 80 Days" was its 50th
week, has been receiving congratulatory
messages from friends and industryites all
over the country for "making it two in a
row." Business at the Gary, where "Kwai"
is on a roadshow basis, picked up 20 per cent
the day following the Academy Awards telecast.
Starring in his Copa's "Showdown in the
Sun" for United Artists will be Tyrone Power.
Adorno Circuit
Drawing Power of
Based on Strong Family Appeals
By ALLEN M.
WIDEM
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. — There's an old
.saying in the Adomo organization here: Retain
the family audience element and you've
got some semblance of industry staying power.
To this end, Sal Adorno sr... general manager
of the ever-optimistic M&D Theatres,
local independent circuit, has been persistent
in his day-to-day contact with family elements.
A concrete example occurred St. Patrick's
Day. The downtown Palace and Middlesex,
both under the M&D banner, offered twoadmissions-for-the-price-of-one
"in honor of
St. Patrick's Day."
Mike Adorno, assistant general manager,
advertised the offer extensively, adding the
line, "Buy One Ticket and Admit Two!"
The children of this industi-ial community
are never overlooked, either; traditionally,
the Adornos distribute a pass to each member
of
the Middletown High School graduating
class, contending that in this gesture the
circuit expresses basic good will and reminds
other members of the graduate's family that
the Adorno family wants to be remembered
on a festive occasion.
On certain holidays throughout the school
year, the Palace and Middlesex distribute
candy and other gifts to youngsters at children's
shows. During the Christmas season,
a free performance of stage and screen entertainment
is presented and free candy distributed.
The community spirit is reflected in
stories, sometimes on page one, in the regional
newspapers. The Adornos feel that
press contact is important, too, and speciallyprepared
stories are submitted when children's
shows are conducted, for example.
Winners of audience-participation contests
NEW HAVEN
Degardless of inevitable minor quibbling
over the advisability of telecasting the
Academy Awards, the Filmrow consensus
was that the presentation had Connecticut
theatre-patrons thinking primarily in terms
of motion pictures again. That development
in itself was significant to theatre owners
who have had their share of excessive customer
crowing about television's constant
improvements. Lockwood & Gordon houses,
including the Plaza, Windsor, and Palace,
South Windsor, went their neighbors one
better, providing free lobby television and
coffee and doughnuts through courtesy of
cooperative merchants.
.
The Newtown park commission sponsored
a showing of Warners' "The Pajama Game"
at the Edmond Town Hall Theatre . . . The
Cheshire Brownie Girl Scouts conducted a
friendship ceremony at Joe DeFrancesco's
Cheshire. Cheshire . J. Rich. Stanley
Warner Cameo. Bristol, put a number of
free passes into popcorn bags at a recent
Saturday kiddles show Perakos.
Perakos Theatre Associates, reported the
start of new Tuesday night talent competition
at the first-run Hi-Way, Bridgeport.
The series got under way March 25, with
are proclaimed in such storie.s and time and
again an appreciative mother will phone the
Adorno office and thank Sal sr. or Mike for
notifying the newspapers.
Whenever a major motion picture containing
even a scanty mention of Middletown
or the central Connecticut area Is
booked, the Adorno take cognizance via Inclusion
of several lines in daily newspaper
ads
Ẇhen it comes to enthusiasm reflected In
bright, brisk newspaper ad copy the Adornos
i-ank with the best. Circuit thinking is that
additional patrons can be lured into a downtown
motion picture theatre with ebullience
in ad copy.
"I go along with the line. "Vou've got to
tell them to sell them,' " Mike Adorno told
BOXOFFTCE, "and who are we to dispute the
salesmanship argument, particularly when
carefully-written copy, entertainingly displayed,
is able to bring in just a few more
dollars time and again?"
Family viewing patterns are carefully
gauged in the Adorno office; on occasion, a
foreign film, usually an attraction that has
chalked up unusual busmess in the key
metropolitan centers, will be booked into
either the Palace or Middlesex because it is
felt that Middletown audiences—and especially
Adorno audiences—should not have
to seek motion picture entertainment elsewhere.
Again, ample advertising campaigning
is stressed to remind even the casual theatregoer
of the brief interruption in conventional
booking schedules.
Around the Christmas holiday season, Sal
Adorno sr. sits down at his desk and composes
a thank-you message to the moviegoing
public that is also an expression of confidence
in the motion picture medium for
the years ahead.
winners to be guests on a New York TV
show.
The AIP saturation opening of "The Viking
Women and the Sea Serpent" and "The
She-Monster" got benefit of extensive TV
spots . Artists exploitation chief
Harry Goldstein has assigned veteran circus
praise agent Clarence Bell to handle New-
England saturation openings of "Macabre."
The William Castle production opens in more
than 100 theatres in this territoiy April 16.
Two Connecticut drive-ins originally slat«d
to resume operations March 14 and then canceled
out for two successive weekends because
of adverse weather, finally made it
March 28. The Manchester at Bolton Not