Came before the malls: Showmanship for Small-town cinemas

Over forty years ago, there was a film need not be removed in order to attract sufficient customers in a mall. Like other small, private company had done before them, have survived small-town cinema - and in some cases even thrived - for several decades. You can still occasionally corrected on independent theaters in small towns far enough away from population centers, but it is more likely to find abandoned buildings with emptyMarquis, which often resemble the bow of old rusted ships. Some old theater building used as bowls for churches and small businesses, but also many of these buildings, like the ill-concealed, that someone can pass through the city easily guess the role it once played as a local center for community experience common. After the type of community has changed after the local population began to identify with the community on national television, he joined the local exhibitors, the publicShow through advertising gimmickry not only for his role in the community, but often the spirit of the local community to raise. These tents converted to remind us, not only of abandoned ships, but the seedy circus tents to remain long after the circus left town, can carry only a few traces of their previous role in the rituals of the community, but the memories of staff efforts to maintain the local fair at the circus alive in front of the cultural change is the circus and maintainKnowledge of cultural significance in our lives.

Before people rely so heavily on cars, and before that he feared more than a few blocks away, many cities were less than a thousand people walking their own theater, residents often called the "model home" or "to show the image ". The inhabitants of the western city of Carthage, Illinois, for example, saw two model homes in the suburbs not long after the beginning of 20 th century, but survived only one of themfor a long time. The Woodbine Theater, after the creeping vine, which was named on the east side of the brick that was not the first theater in the city over three thousand people, but self-expression due to the owner to withdraw from business competition.

Woodbine was the first transformed into a theater in 1917 by Charles Arthur Garard. CA, as it was called, was a local dairy and ice cream shop downtown, five cents of soft ice cream offered, managed pastry,Five-percent crushed fruit and a soufflé tobacco Garard called Royal Blue. He was an astute businessman, but he was also an imaginative dreamer under control with his pragmatic and wiser woman still had to be maintained. Bertha, who often accompanied the silent movies shown in his theater with its piano kept him from the sale of the theater and drift into other projects, such as growing grapefruit in Florida. If CA is dead, took over as owner until his youngest son, Justus,was old enough to help her.

Justus recalled in June of 1981, as his father had never really enjoy the possibility of any substantial income from the theater for ten years after conversion. "We had been out of business if it were not for the sound film," said Just, the first of which "were very difficult to understand." Speaking the Woodbine was the first theater in the region, images, sound on the system disk as Warner Brothers 'Vitaphone' (on display wereBlack and white TV promo for the film The Fall of Troy 1955 and copies of DVDs and VHS movies). The first sound films were "only part-talkie. They could use some dialogue, the [character] would go up to sing." Because it was expensive to install audio equipment, has designed and friend Oliver Kirschner their sound system. Iron voted turntables have been removed in an industrial site 16 miles in Keokuk, Iowa cast and attacked to drive the projector. Since the soundProjectors operate at 34 frames per second, revised, to synchronize a way to accelerate their film projectors for the soundtrack disc. Occasionally, "the needle jump out of the rut" and the projectionist would "go up the groove and he just looking carefully at the tone." He recalled that he had to do this for two or three years, until the advent of sound film. When the needles have a slot to go to the next, asof over-modulation, the customer would wait patiently for the projectionist to synchronize data with the film.

The introduction of sound-on-film that was called back to stay Right here in 1933, requires that he, like other exhibitors, insert one end into the projector expensive tape. As some films as a sound on disc have been released and some have been published as a sound-on-film system that sounds like Fox had many exhibitors choose between one system or another."So," Justus said, "we do not Fox played without images. Paramount and Fox has done with the record with the sound-on-film." Once installed, the sound-on-film system, which no longer uses the system disk, because he never "able to fully overcome, that the noise wavery. The music went up and down."

Although CA has died shortly after the sound system worked hard, never saw the business to improve in his theater. Justus seen a gradual improvement "along about 1937."This increase in patronage was not, as many small enriches the city to citizens interested in the latest technical improvements or her life through the imaginative vision of such a genius like Orson Welles, who just wanted fun, would whisk away even in their daily lives - and an excuse to leave the house. He had planned for the end of his act or be surprised and not really challenged intellectually. They were enthusiasticSee their favorite romantic leads in vehicles involved last star routine, about how they saw the burning of Atlanta.

The fact that WITH THE WIND (1939) was a success in Carthage may or may not be the result of the Right side of a barn, where he and his friends found 24 page ad touting the old favorites have been added. Many of the films that were now considered classics by the time little more than run-of-the-mill programmers. Casablanca (1942), forTherefore, only a small romantic thriller starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman was stunt for our exotic fantasies, turned the attention of a small town patrons away from their personal problems while caricatures of evil Nazis provided targets for their anger. In most cases, what was playing on the local theater does not matter if it's a movie like WIZARD OF OZ (1939), the first business was disappointing but was later seen as a classic, or movieswith appropriate titles, as a small-town girl (1936). It 'was an activity of communities, of vital importance for the city, which was towed Banda Saturday Night concert, when the white-painted wooden kiosk was in the middle of Main Street.

An activity that Justus in his small town theater patronage encouraged to improve the bank was night. Night-bank was a gimmick that works as follows: The customer would register in a great book and each entry form was a day of Justus numberedor used in a large drum. The basket is in front of the theater after the first public appearance on Tuesday nights, when the local dealer or other eminent citizens would take a number and you are brought to the public. If the person sitting in the theater that the number at this time, he or she would be entitled to the money. "Otherwise," Justus added that "the money that we as a bank and returned a week later the night was set, we would add fifty dollars a week .." FiftyDollars overnight to pay for the display and start the theater really just money until the jackpot reaches $ 200 or about $ 300. "Then we would fill the theater," he said, and these are not "all the people who came and played in the afternoon." Of course, it would be a weekly winner in the industry say they have canceled Right, like other independent exhibitors, took a risk with this device.

Another ploy to increase ticket sales for the lameDistribution of cutlery set, a piece at a time, until the owner had collected a whole sentence. These sets - knives, forks, spoons and ladles - were easier to handle than plates were transported in barrels and were often broken. Unlike today, the largest exhibitor in fact part of their profits from ticket sales. The limited supply of the concession is located in small theaters - provided only a little '- long before the days of hot dogs and cheese covered tortilla warmerPercent of revenue. The best years for the sale of tickets went on, Justin, during the Second World War.

While Justus was a Navy officer in 1943, a fire broke out in the oven and consumed the entire theater. His uncle, Edgar Payne leading architects have drawn up plans for a wider, single-story theater, and construction began immediately under the supervision of Kirschner. The new building had no balcony, but there was a soundproof crying on the second floor. The capacitywas the theater with 500 seats, and this was later reduced to 350.

At the end of 1930, Just an old building transformed into a theater in Dallas City, Illinois, 16 miles north of Carthage. The theater, he remembered, had a "beautiful front lobby walk-up stairs before" what "later unlawful because it was a fire hazard." The Dallas Theater profit during the second world war, but he added, was the first of his three small town theater "dry" too. A theater Quonset hutbuilt in the river town of Warsaw after the Second World War. And 'oldest surviving theater in Dallas City, but not strong right, made money. A circuit of the theater made ​​him an important offer substantial in the early 1950's for all three of his theater, but in spite of the gradual shift of population away from small communities, he refused. He said he did not want to be just outside the theater business.

Television has contributed to changes in rural communities,especially when near Quincy bought a TV station in early 1950, but a departure from the common experience of the small town where equally to blame. Theatre Justus' do not lose customers faster than many other local companies such as retailers of furniture shops and haberdashery. Alive despite the efforts of theater exhibitors and other dealers to their integral role in a community decline, the transportation facilitates migration of residents in urban areas where they livesuburban community complete with shopping centers and malls everywhere. New theater emerged in these shopping malls and multiplex twins later, but patrons do not usually offer any sense of participation in common rituals. Watching movies projected on automated systems, while in a foreign country in a shoebox sized mall theater was sitting (in some urban areas) have little to do the experience of watching a movie with neighbors andRelated to the local "model home".

Patrons in small communities, there is no need to wait 16 weeks or drive around the city for a new film, because the changes have been several small theaters of the week. Just recalled that his theater would be "a Sunday-Monday movie, a bank Tuesday night, a Wednesday-Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then run. We have to the point where we were open three days a week. Before there was Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday, and then it was Friday, Saturday andSunday. "The community supports the theater during the Carthage nights a week was reduced at the end of 1950 and 1960, but the theater in Warsaw on Saturday and Sunday performances, sometimes with a different movie every night. The students of the local four-year arts The liberal college participation in Carthage held Friday evening at Woodbine strong, but high school football games Friday visit to Warsaw very limited.

Another factor that "made it so difficult for small towns," saidJust had that independent exhibitors "could not get the product until it had carried out the greatest places," as Quincy, about 40 miles south of Carthage, and Keokuk, which is located just across the Mississippi River on the south East Iowa. Why was an independent, had to wait six weeks for a film, the first in Quincy, Keokuk, or has been sent to other play near the theater district. "If we had played the week after the film," Justus said: "Why do peoplestayed home to watch it. But we knew that going to do it for a while '. So you should be in Keokuk. "

Among the tricks used later to generate interest were local community midnight show on Halloween, and the four functions run before each new year, but the biggest seasonal event in Carthage, the annual series of merchant-funded films of Christmas. Before each holiday season Justus Filmack bought a trailer to the merchants, and a salesman from St. Louis sold the dealer for a placeTrailer for $ 37.50. The merchants were awarded tickets or free tickets for the theater have been good at any time, but the Christmas movie - usually the children of parents who are encouraged to Christmas shopping were elected to do in the city - were shown free of charge to the community. The popcorn is not, of course, was free. I remember filling bags full of popcorn and handed it to the glass against intrusive that patrons had to pay. . . not $ 3.00. . . but ten cents.

TheMidnight screenings of Halloween horror double features were the ones I particularly like. Justus often ran double bills like the return of the fly and fly and AIP I Was a teenage Frankenstein (1957) with UA is the return of Dracula (1958). For the latter, in Warsaw, I'm in a white cardboard castle that dominates the left exit covered. Before starting, appropriately enough for Halloween, a watch that was advertised a local house funeral. (I often wondered why the funeral Watcheshave been shown in small cinemas in those days. Patrons were reminded that their life is ticking while the movies were flickering on the screen?) I stretched a wire from the projection room in the immediate left of the screen output, and put a white sheet on top rack. As a highlight of the film, I was walking out the door with my girlfriend and pulled the rope to the suspension, intending to pull down my spiritto exit above the heads of the audience. The genie is out of the projection screen small sign, but the hook-up was hung on a knife and refused to travel, as I thought. I pulled the rope and went away, the announcer gave the trailer a boost. When the lights in the house was at the end of the function, I found my suspended determined deus ex machina in plain view in the middle of the room. Perhaps this failure was because all my future expenses Justus limited to the promotion ofthe lobby outside the theater, maybe he decided that was too much as a master showman William Castle gimmicks like (for films such as The House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler, MR sardonicus influenced, and Thirteen Ghosts murder.). Of all the movie Castle, Justus played, I can only stained glass of the original Thirteen Ghosts are particularly effective. [More details on the horror movie promotions can be found in the article that accompaniesBlack and white Halloween Horror HITS. UNDEAD WITCH I was a teen, which is available online]

These are just some examples of promotional machinations that are necessary have been shown to increase ticket sales for the second period films from independent, small-town exhibitors. Many of the former expedients, such as banking and merchant vessels at night shows sponsored Christmas, has brought in a couple of dollars more, but it is doubtful that the latest gadgets and more extravagant strongly affected ticket sales.Boxoffice Magazine exploitation films and sheets for individual offered suggestions, many of which require the appointment of expensive treatment, but the fight had to rely above all independent thankfully own imagination, to create affordable prices.

* Justus Garard said that one of the last independent exhibitors will retreat into the realm of business. The Woodbine Theater in Carthage, sold to the neighboring car dealership in 1969 and eventually turned into a showroom forNew cars. The interior of his theater, as my brother and I saw shortly after it was destroyed for this purpose, such as the interior of the film in the beautiful small town and moving Italian film Cinema Paradiso (1989). The theater in Dallas and Warsaw, although closed for a long time, any resemblance between cinema, the latter used as a warehouse for antiques, still has his bow a marquee that juts over the sidewalk. Not much has changed in the River CityWarsaw, Saturday evening, but without jumping the stage with people who play instruments, while the children around him, and without the glittering curtain of the old cinema, Main Street looks much darker and more solitary. Maybe just a couple of independent exhibitors, as in small towns in the Midwest, such as Carthage and Warsaw, have resorted to tricks to the above, and perhaps the death knell for the mother and the operating room long before the pop sound productionmany of the subsequent publicity, but as the sailors on ships, many of these theaters still exist like fronts, refused to leave without a fight stubbornly independent.

[Note: * Justus Garard statements are from an interview with Sam Garard made in June 1981 in Daytona, Fla., home cinema project, owned by Sam at the time. I thank my father who is approved in May 1988 and his younger brother for the information that support myMemories. Some of these memories have been used as a background for my novels Waterfield and OPEN for the season.]

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