Boxoffice-February.26.1973

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No. 20
OBJECTIVE REVIEWING
WE
could hardly believe our eyes
when, in last Sunday's (February
18) issue of the Kansas City Star,
we read the following in the Arts & Entertainment
Section:
The outlook for "Steelyard Blues"
was blue indeed until Warner Bros,
screened the comedy a couple of
times for some ordinary moviegoers.
What was feared to be a routine picture
made the audiences "roll in the
aisles."
Since then Warners has been busy
doing all the things that make
movies go around. Advertising,
booking, promotional toui's and special
screenings have been arranged
with meticulous care. In Kansas
City, there have been countless previews
plus a publicity blitz by JuUa
Phillips, one of the producers. If the
movie isn't a hit, it ought to be.
The screenings offered us the rare
opportunity of seeing a film twice
with audiences. While no one actually
fell out of his seat and rolled
in the aisles, even the small groups
we observed laughed hard dozens
and dozens of times. Beyond
that there were untallied giggles,
chuckles, snickers and titters. It's
As we have been saying at this time
of year for the past 16 years, "It's Show-
* *
safe to say "Steelyard Blues" works
for an audience as a whole, although
there are individuals—including
some New York critics—who don't
care for it.
That was the introduction to the review
of "Steelyard Blues" written by
Dennis Stack, one of the Kansas City
Star's motion picture reviewers. We are
giving it this emphasis, because of the
value on "seeing the pictm-es with an
audience," a policy that many newspapers
and other publications—seem to
fight, rather than adhere to. Also, it
underlines om- own advocacy that it is
unfair to pictm'es, picture-makers and
moviegoers, for critics to judge movies
strictly from a self-centered or subjective
viewpoint—instead of objectively, keeping
in mind the varied tastes of patrons,
for whom they are supposed to be doing
the reviewing.
Another thing we liked about Dennis
Stack's review is that he didn't go into
lengthy detail, giving away the plot and
revealing surprise developments that
some reviewers so often cany to an extreme,
defeating what is
the basic purpose
of their jobs—to provide an evaluation
of motion pictui'es from an audience
point-of-view.
ITS A GRAND OCCASION!
A-Rama Time." And, as has long been the
case, this annual event is geared for the
enlightenment—as well as enjoyment—of
exhibitors, producer-distributors, equipment
manufacturers and dealers, it's a
grand occasion! With Showmanship as
the basis and its fullest utilization as the
objective, Show-A-Rama 16 is designed
as another forward step in the progress
of the industiy as a whole.
A record attendance is indicated by
reservations to date, not overlooking the
excellent program of events, including
the presence of top screen personalities
and industry executives who will add to
the glamour of this get-together.
New conditions have arisen in the industry
and the developments these forecast
call for strategic decisions to meet
their requirements, not only to keep this
business on an even keel, but to open new
avenues for its continuing progress.
Showmanship fits importantly into the
new patterns that may be expected and
that gives accent to the basic objectives
that brought Show-A-Rama into being
and fui-thered its progress along practical
trade lines.
Show-A-Rama's leaders and committees
have been hard at work planning
and organizing the most practical methods
for bringing what the industry has
to offer to the widest attention of the
public. That includes working together,
not only during the convention, but continuing
throughout the year through the
interchange of ideas in merchandising
and marketing for the upbuilding of theatre
patronage.
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