kroger babb
0% of the voters think that kroger babb did do drugs regularly, 0% assume that kroger babb did take drugs recreationally and 0% are convinced that kroger babb has never tried drugs before .
today, kroger babb would be 111 years old. to be more precise, kroger babb would be 40524 days old or 972576 hours .
what kroger babb is credited with starting is something we take for granted today .
as mentioned above, kroger babb died 38 years ago. feel free to add stories and questions about kroger babb' s life as well as your comments below .
drag images here or select from your computer for howard w. “kroger” babb memorial .
employment: started kroger babb film co. was film producer, writer, distributor .
we would think so. you can find a collection of items related to kroger babb
unfortunately no, kroger babb is not alive anymore. the death rumors are true .
the name
kroger
came from an early job at wilmington, ohio' s kroger store .
0% of all voters think that kroger babb was gay (homosexual), 0% voted for straight (heterosexual), and 0% like to think that kroger babb was actually bisexual .
are persons that are similar to kroger babb. click on their names to check out their faqs .
kroger has 58 stores in middle tennessee including hendersonville’s glenbrook location and a kroger marketplace on nashville pike between hendersonville and gallatin .
as a kid he worked at a kroger grocery store. his friends began calling him
kroger
and the name stuck. when he became a showman this proved to be an asset since
kroger babb
was more memorable than his given name howard w. babb .
kroger babb was born on december 30, 1906 in lees creek, ohio, usa as howard w. babb. he is known for his work on
while in the army, friedman sold surplus searchlights to exploitation film and road - show pioneer kroger babb and later became a road - show salesman for babb .
0% of all voters think that kroger babb was hot, 0% voted for
not hot
.
kroger babb is probably the second most infamous babb of all time (behind phillip babb of the isles of shoals). but one thing is for sure, he made a lot more money along the way .
i thought you might like to see a memorial for howard w. “kroger” babb i found on findagrave. com .
why men leave home 1951: kroger babb - producer. : free download, borrow, and streaming: internet archive
uncle tom' s cabin (kroger babb, 1969). first us showing one | lot # 53486 | heritage auctions
kenneth turan ,
kroger babb: superhuckster .
los angeles times via the washington post, november 11, 1977 .
kroger babb died on the 28th of january 1980, which was a monday. the tragic death occurred 38 years ago .
), memorial page for howard w. “kroger” babb (30 dec 1906–28 jan 1980), find a grave memorial no .
according to various sources, kroger babb' s net worth has grown significantly in 2018. however, the numbers vary depending on the source. if you have current knowledge about kroger babb' s net worth, please feel free to share the information below .
, which was a sunday. kroger babb' s next birthday would be in 173 days (would be turning 112years old then) .
a brief clip from kroger babb' s infamous recut of ingmar bergman' s summer with monika. out now on blu - ray and dvd: urltoken
the tale of showman ,
producer ,
marketeer and american genius howard
kroger
babb has not been told in full biography. babb' s legend weaves in and out of david f. friedman' s autobio
it is no secret that many celebrities have been caught with illegal drugs in the past. some even openly admit their drug usuage. do you think that kroger babb did smoke cigarettes, weed or marijuhana? or did kroger babb do steroids, coke or even stronger drugs such as heroin? tell us your opinion below .
hendersonville planners approve new kroger a new 100, 000 - square - foot kroger is expected to open next fall in the former kmart building in hendersonville. check out this story on urltoken urltoken
there' s one additional piece of film after the story ends. the final screen image is kroger babb himself, sitting at his desk and speaking directly to camera .
sold their interest in the film to producer kroger babb. though the film had been market tested and was released in the u. k. in 1954 under the title
hygienic productions was a film production company based out of wilmington, ohio. formed by exploitation film producer kroger babb, the company was in charge of promotion and production for a number of babb' s films, including the infamous mom and dad .
uncle tom' s cabin (kroger babb, 1969). first us showing one sheet (27. 75
x 42
). drama... . .
members of the hendersonville regional planning commission approved a site plan for a new kroger store tuesday night .
before he left the news journal, babb started officiating basketball and football games .
two things make the world function... commerce and sex and kroger babb exploited both. a man from a distant era who knew how to market sex and make a few bucks .
hi! a visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: hof profile: howard w. “kroger” babb. here is a link to that story: urltoken
the biggest irony of all is that the public schools actually did follow kroger babb' s example and start showing sex - education films not unlike the facts of life: an explanation of sex cycles. and once the information was available in schools, babb was out of business .
following forbes' s lecture. the text was written by babb' s wife ,
this brief coda is actually the essence of babb' s shell game. he says
. and once the information was available in schools, babb was out of business .
well, that is up to you to decide! click the
hot
- button if you think that kroger babb was hot, or click
not
if you don' t think so .
production of the film cost babb and his investors a total of $ 63, 000 .
some roadshow exploitation exhibitors, like kroger babb and david friedman, used to show cut - up versions of bergman films. their version of my summer with monika became monika, the story of a bad girl .
no comment necessary, really, but the headline alone demonstrates one proven fact: every modern marketing department, for every distributor on the planet, when placed next to kroger babb, has absolutely zero kung - fu .
it' s a natural for waters. clearly he shares some of babb' s dna .
. [ its ] success flowed, rather, from babb' s extraordinary promotional abilities .
personal: spouse mildred horn. son, dr. richard rankin babb, california; five grandchildren
now, truth be told, i' m on water' s christmas list for a specific reason and that' s because we share an interest in a nearly - forgotten film producer by the name of kroger babb .
... television and non - theatrical film companies 671 hallmark productions. inc. (educational pictures and roadshow attractions) box 249, wilmington, ohio president kroger babb hance (paul) productions, inc ...
mom and dad (1945) hygienic films: : hallmark productions ep: barney a. sarecky / p: kroger babb, j. s. jossey / ap: lewis g. dow / d: william beaudine / w: kroger babb, mildred horn / c: marcel le picard / e: richard c. currier, lloyd friedgen / m: dave torbett / s: june carlson, hardie albright, george eldredge, lois austin
a new 100, 000 - square - foot kroger is expected to open next fall in the former kmart building in hendersonville .
the new store is expected to open next fall and will replace the current main street location, according to kroger spokesperson melissa eads .
as of today, we do not have any current numbers about kroger babb' s net worth in 2018 in our database. if you know more or want to take an educated guess, please feel free to do so above .
after world war ii, he bought some brand - new army - surplus searchlights and advertised them for sale. his first customer was the
king of exploitation
, kroger babb. his meeting with babb led to an association with the showman, especially with the producer' s notorious roadshow attraction mom and dad (1945) .
“this will be the ‘wow’ of the market, ” chris miller, assistant real estate manager for kroger’s nashville division told planning commission members .
for more on kroger babb, elliot forbes, mom and dad, and the history of post - word war ii sex - ed exploitation movies and the death of the hayes code, click right here and head on over to the brewery .
we are always open to alternatives that present themselves ,
babb said in answer to the question .
joel sucher is a filmmaker with pacific street films and a contributing blogger for huffington post. currently - - no surprise - - he' s working on a documentary and feature film project focused on the life and times of kroger and mildred babb .
eades said that clicklist will be up and running in several kroger stores in the greater nashville area by the time the store opens next fall .
many people enjoy sharing rumors about the sexuality and sexual orientation of celebrities. we don' t know for a fact whether kroger babb was gay, bisexual or straight. however, feel free to tell us what you think! vote by clicking below .
babb got a visit from the l. a. vice squad for his hour - long cut of monika .
a hollywood make up man shows a house wife how to fix her self up for her husband. producer kroger babb sold make up kits at theaters showing this film. babb was best known as the producer of mom and dad 1945 a birth of a baby movie featuring medical footage of a baby' s birth. this film is also known as secrets of beauty .
one note regarding babb’s officiating career reported he traveled more than 30, 000 miles to officiate football and basketball games .
kroger babb died january 28, 1980, in palm springs, california, at the age of 73. and now, friends, you' ve seen the entire production. if you have been shocked and educated, please show the management your appreciation. by your applause .
kroger babb was born on december 30, 1906 in lees creek, ohio, usa as howard w. babb. he is known for his work on mom and dad (1945), one too many (1950) and summer with monika (1953). he was married to mildred horn and luella sutton. he died on january 28, 1980 in palm springs, california, usa .
when it appeared he had his fill of sports writing and officiating, babb went to california and took his place in the film industry. it doesn’t appear babb’s films had anything to do with sports, but rather controversial or easily sensationalized subjects .
the store will include a fuel center and drive - thru pharmacy as well as a new concept for kroger that will allow customers to order groceries online, clicklist .
a few years back i sent waters some babb memorabilia that included an original mom and dad sex manual and a mom and dad branded premium (i forgot whether it was the burn or the rectal ointment). i' ve been on water' s christmas list ever since. we' ve also discussed working towards the noble goal of helping kroger babb find his rightful place in the annals of film history .
once babb came on the scene, though, there were pages dedicated to local sports and they were together. babb wrote a column which had the title “bumble bee, ” which he used to offer his opinion as well as to feature local athletes .
in the 35 years or so i knew kroger babb, never once did he not proclaim' mom and dad' anything but a great crusade destined to save the world from sin and corruption. never once did he admit to his friends and associates that it actually was the epitome of expert exploitation. babb' s favorite admonition was,' you gotta tell' em to sell' em,' and like any salesman, babb sold himself first .
- - david f. friedman, quoted in a youth in babylon, 1990 .
born in the hamlet of lees creek, ohio, babb still likes to refer to himself, with artful modesty, as
just a country boy with a shoeshine .
called kroger as a nickname because of his father' s fondness for the b. h. kroger brand of coffee, babb had that wild variety of jobs that characterizes so many american entrepreneurs. among things he refereed enough football and basketball games to make ripley' s believe it or not, and staged depression - era stunts like burying alive one digger o' dell right in the center of wilmington, ohio .
i have this fascination with kroger babb, who was a movie producer / director from the early days of film. he is known as the king of the roadshow. he would take his movie on the road from town to town renting out local movie houses and creating events worthy of attracting crowds .
a new 100, 000 - square - foot kroger is expected to open next fall in the former kmart building in hendersonville — less than a block from its current location .
babb was the producer of the ern westmore hollywood glamour show, which may have been the first makeover reality show, in 1953 .
kroger babb was the hollywood producer of
mom and dad
, the most successful sex hygiene film ever, and the biggest pre - 1960 exploitation film of any kind. the film made millions. he made a handfull of other films with such stars as hardie albright and ruth warwick and the talented moppet, ginger prince. kroger' s motto was ,
you gotta tell' em to sell' em
. in 1943 while roadshowing
dust to
dust, a sex ed drama with birthing footage, babb attended a texas town meeting, called because numerous high school girls had become pregnant by soldiers from a nearby camp .
it was a hell of a meeting ,
babb remembered, you had all these old biddies squabbling and roasting everybody. then it hit me... this would make a hell of a movie !
years later kroger was the inspiration for the successful career of john waters .
perhaps the most revolutionary thing babb did was to give his film such a bland and praiseworthy title. who could object to a movie called
kroger babb, an exploitation exhibitor, got the rights to summers with monika for $ 10, 000. he then put in $ 50, 000 into the film for cutting and dubbing. he got it through deceptive and suspect means, and svensk took legal action because they soid the rights to janus films. they worked out a deal to release “stories of a bad girl, ” babb’s version for five years, while janus would release it for art audiences .
dennis mcdougal ,
filmmaker babb let promotion offset low budgets .
the press - enterprise, (riverside, california), unknown date .
members of the hendersonville regional planning commission approved a site plan for the store tuesday night after granting several waivers related to building materials that will allow kroger to build a new prototype for the company .
an outrageous producer and promoter of cheesy films, kroger babb was a direct throwback to the old west snake oil salesmen and adhered to p. t. barnum' s credo about a sucker being born every minute. starting his professional life as a sportswriter, he went to work at warner brothers in 1934 to promote attendance at their theater chains. among babb' s depression - era ballyhoo was a man buried alive and such attractions as the give - aways grocery night and dish night .
mildred babb. journalist, screenwriter. met in 1944; wrote screenplay for
mom and dad ;
married in late 1960s; survived him .
babb’s associates agreed with his belief that “nothing’s hopeless if it’s advertised right”, stating that he “could take any piece of junk and sell it. ”
karamoja was a 1954 film produced by exploitation filmmaker kroger babb. a documentary of a native tribe from uganda, the film was marketed by babb to focus on the imagery that would be shocking to an american audience, including advertising which claimed that the tribe wore
only the wind and live on blood and beer.'' scenes in the film included
the bleeding of cattle and drinking of the warm blood, and self - mutilation as a form of ornamentation ,
as well as a full - color circumcision scene. karamoja proved to be less controversial than many of babb' s other films, grossing less in box office revenue as a result .
what kroger babb does retain, however, is his absolute, almost religious faith in the all - conquering powers of salesmanship .
he had a theory ,
explains attorney henry fox ,
that if there was a crowd of at least three people standing around, you ought to be selling them something. it was an absolute sin if you didn' t .
the lurid pink / el cheapo austere cover of
the key to successful sexual relations
. the
dr. elliot forbes
who babb employed to tour with
though an exact start and end date were not found for babb’s tenure at the news journal, it looks like he started in 1924 and worked until approximately 1934 .
a 1980 story in the news journal, stated babb earned a note in ripley’s believe it or not for having officiated more than 1, 000 high school football and 1, 000 high school basketball games in his career. during the 1933 - 34 school year, babb was said to have officiated 147 football and basketball games .
the success flowed, rather, from babb' s extraordinary promotional abilities. working from the premise that
you' ve got to tell' em to sell' em .
babb would simply overwhelm a town with exploitation material, even pioneering the use of direct mail advertising, sending four - color heralds to every mailbox in town .
christina hughes babb is the managing editor at advocate media and blogs about running at runningkick. wordpress. com. she lives with her husband and two children in dallas .
babb said in tuesday' s conference call with banking analysts that the bank
was not relying on a significantly better economic environment or a substantial increase in interest rates .
babb insisted that the program be followed closely; a contractual agreement with theaters required that each presentation follow a similar approach. because the forbes lecture formed part of the viewing, extra
babb died in 1980 but a few years after i was lucky enough to meet babb' s widow, mildred. together with some colleagues, i had set out to dig up more information on this forgotten film producer (i had come across some cryptic references to him in various publications). mildred was eager to talk and talk she could. then in her 80s she went full throttle, non - stop, waxing poetic about the shock value of her shared ventures with babb; spinning hilarious stories delivered with proverbial rapier - sharp wit and to top it off she could still drink myself and my colleagues under the table. there was a simpatico connection cemented by our desire to resurrect babb from cinema' s dustbin of history. she responded by laying all sorts of memorabilia on us, including original scripts, posters, copies of mom and dad sex manuals, copies of babb' s films (including a 35mm nitrate print of mom and dad); even a bust of kroger sculpted by the daughter of longtime friend and fellow promoter, colonel sanders. a subsequent research trip to babb' s hometown of wilmington in 1989 netted us even more valuables (he was still a well - loved and remembered figure) including boxes of mom and dad premiums - - match books and medicinals - - branded with the film' s title. but the pièce de résistance was the actual banner that hung outside babb' s wilmington headquarters proclaiming
hygienic films: producers, exploiters, promoters .
in high school at wilmington, babb was the school cheerleader. from information gathered over the years, it appears there was a single cheerleader for the football and basketball teams at wilmington back then. i picture the guy with the large megaphone yelling to the local fans to root for their team. babb also was the team manager for football and basketball at whs .
however, he reportedly made a great deal of money from these films. according to a report in the los angeles times, per wikipedia, babb’s “mom and dad” film grossed anywhere from $ 40 million to $ 100 million. also, wikipedia’s biography on babb said he received “the first annual sid grauman showmanship award” in 1951, presented by the hollywood rotary club .
many of babb' s films changed title from town to town, and he helped pioneer the midnight movie, along with segregated - sex audiences. babb helped introduce ingmar bergman to the usa in 1955 when he showed the early
sommaren med monika
as
monika, the story of a bad girl
. he even toured a live horror show memorably titled
dr. hassam' s chasm of spasms
. by the time babb retired in the 1970s, his career had inspired ed wood jr. , russ meyer and his own protege david f. friedman to produce their own no - budget epics, as well as william castle, who surpassed babb with such gimmicks as emergo and percepto and theater lobbies filled with nurses and monsters .
consider at the time, only two schools in the county — blanchester and wilmington — had football. blanchester eventually dropped football, so babb’s games had to come outside the county for sure .
kwaheri, also known as kwaheri: vanishing africa or kwaheri: the forbidden, is a 1964 mondo film directed by david chudnow and thor brooks. the film was a pseudo - documentary about vanishing native tribes in africa. kwaheri means goodbye in swahili. as the film focused more on the controversial aspects of the tribal societies, it gained the attention of exploitation filmmakers, including kroger babb, whose hallmark productions distribution company acquired the american rights .
and then there was a film
by this foreign director, he became famous, i can' t think of the fellow' s name ,
that babb was called on to promote. the director was ingmar bergman, who saw
monika
become his first american success after babb tagged it with one of his immortal lines ,
the story of a bad girl .
we learn of the evolution of the star - studded premiere by exhibitor nonpareil sid grauman, whose chinese theater became world - famous for the celebrity handprints in its cement forecourt. jones then calls long overdue attention to the late kroger babb, who, among others, turned out the phenomenally successful
mom and dad ,
a crude 1945 cautionary tale about teen pregnancy, complete with lectures and scenes of childbirth requiring separate screenings for men and women .
howard w. kroger babb (december 30 1906 - january 28 1980) was an american film and television producer and showman. his marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman' s with roots in the medicine - show tradition. self - described as america' s fearless young showman he is best known for his presentation of the 1945 exploitation film mom and dad which was added to the national film registry of the library of congress in 2005 .
babb often used the supposed educational value of his films as an offer of defense, and recommended such tactic to theater owners in his pressbooks. one successful challenge was in new york city, where
the ruling planet of capricorn is saturn. therefore, lucky days were saturdays and lucky numbers were: 1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22 and 26. brown, steel, grey and black were kroger babb' s lucky colors. typical positive character traits of capricorn include: aspiring, restrained, firm, dogged and determined. negative character traits could be: shy, pessimistic, negative in thought and awkward .
yes, i gave the pharmacist at kroger a fake prescription. she called the doctor, then the police. all i could do was sit there. i was out of pills. i was sick. so tired. couldn’t move. couldn’t run anymore .
by the time kroger babb came along, the formula for a sex hygiene movie was so well established that all he did was incorporate every element of every sex hygiene movie in history into a single film. but in search of even better profits, he changed the rules slightly. many of the old sex - hygiene films had played in grindhouses or marginal theaters or even bars and restaurants. he wanted to break through to the biggest theaters in the country .
but when babb was first credited with a byline in the wilmington news journal, sept. 24, 1924 for a wilmington high school football game against withrow, the local sports coverage began to change .
and this didn' t happen in just one city at a time, oh no. in his salad days babb had 300 units on the road at the same time, each complete with its own nurses and its own lecturer, and to this day he continues to run into men who tell him .
you don' t know me mr. babb, but my name was elliot forbes .
comerica chairman and ceo ralph w. babb jr. said the pension changes plus some extra cost - saving measures would add about $ 40 million to the bank' s initial financial target for the restructuring .
today i’d like to introduce you to the first dna proven lineage of devon, which is also known as devon pedigree 01. we stumbled across this tree in one of our early dna attempts when we didn’t yet understand the complexity of the babb line in devon. we had mistakenly believed that we could connect phillip babb of the isles of shoals, maine with one of the devon lineages by doing a dna test .
that was reason enough for one wily american showman, the notorious kroger babb, to acquire the film for the american grindhouse market. he dubbed in a score by the lounge master les baxter, and changed the title to “monika: the story of a bad girl. ” (the new york times did not consider this news that’s fit to print, and didn’t get around to reviewing “summer with monika” until the unadulterated version of the film was released in the united states, in 2007. )
considered the most talented of the westmore brothers, ern found work at warner bros. studio, rko studios, and eagle - lion studios. he was the director of make - up on over 50 films during his career, and was also featured as himself in a number of b - movie - style features for kroger babb, including one too many, and secrets of beauty, also known as why men leave home, an instructional primer for women regarding how to keep their husbands faithful .
babb' s marketing strategy centered on overwhelming small towns with advertisements and letters, in an attempt to create a controversial atmosphere. in keeping with his motto of
you gotta tell' em to sell' em ,
anxious to go out on his own, babb got 20 investors to put up the money to make mom and dad. the script was written by mildred horn, who would later become his wife, and who would also write
lewis was so good at advertising that he was called on by other fledgling chicago filmmakers to help spruce up their ad campaigns, as well as to make their films more sellable. now, when you put a print of multiple maniacs in your trunk, and headed for santa barbara to screen the film, were you influenced at all by any of lewis' s ads when you prepared your fliers, posters, and pitches? or if not lewis, then any of early exploitation roadshow men like kroger babb or the forty thieves ?
television eroded and eventually killed the film exploitation business but not before babb was able to make additional contributions to american hucksterism with epics like the prince of peace (1949), one too many (1950), why men leave home (1951), she shoulda' said
no !
( 1954), and babb' s own paean to great literature, kipling' s women (1960), a nudist rendition of the
the ladies .
babb was an expert at creating a kind of mob psychosis that peaked at the moment the projector started to roll. watching the film today, it' s all but impossible to recreate the atmosphere of a capacity audience waiting breathlessly to see things they knew were forbidden and probably shocking. it was babb' s peculiar genius that he was able to evoke the emotions of a horror movie using what is actually one of the blandest, most formulaic stories ever concocted .
also, many of those basketball games could come on the same day if babb was fortunate enough to officiate a county’s post - season tournament. in some cases, five or more games were played in a day at a single location .
this combination of outraged decency and lusty curiosity led to startling crowd scenes for
mom and dad ,
scenes which babb cannily photographed and used to stimulate further throngs. and while riots were not exactly commonplace, things did tend to happen .
it started one night in 1943 when babb attended a town meeting in tiny burkburnett, tex. , called because local high school girls were being impregnated in large numbers by men from a nearby army air corps base .
it was a hell of a meeting, you had all these old biddies squabbling and roasting everybody, they wanted to declare the whole air corps off limits ,
babb remembers .
then the idea hit me, that would make a hell of a movie .
he called himself
america' s fearless young showman
and he wasn' t kidding. a positive thinking supersalesman, he made dozens of millions of dollars promoting some of the worst films imaginable into box - office champions. the legion of decency regularly condemned his work, but crowds literally rioted if they couldn' t get in. he was a classic figure in america' s cultural netherwould, but today he is just about unknown. the name is kroger babb, and when it' s mentioned to the chosen few who knew him, they just smile .
kroger would have separate screenings for men and women and bring in sex experts to discuss intimate issues in a question and answer session. then he would sell pamphlets to the audience. i have some of those, but they are lengthy and scanning them will take some extra effort. so, those are for a future day .
showmanship was babb' s middle name and to make sure everyone knew, it took to calling himself
mr. pihsnamwohs
( hold it up to a mirror). he even emblazoned the side of his rickety corporate airplane with the moniker .
in 1955, babb set westmore up with his own television series. originally called hollywood today, but also called hollywood backstage and the ern westmore show, the ern westmore hollywood glamour show was a program featuring make - up tips and beauty suggestions .
while the story of his early - ’60s trash fests is a good one, you won’t find it here. a youth in babylon mostly concerns friedman’s apprenticeship with such masters of sleaze as kroger babb and irwin joseph, fast - talking hustlers who toured such cheapies as mom and dad (a ”sex - ed” film with a reel slapped on the end showing a baby being born) and reefer madness from town to town throughout the ’40s and ’50s. some of the anecdotes are wonderful (especially the ones about babb, a minor - league barnum who deserves his own bio). but friedman, a carny barker at heart, seems too taken with his own pitch. he writes in the style of a circus poster, all alliteration and gaudy type, and it has the effect of making everything he says sound like a come - on .
somehow aip' s salty sam arkoff eluded jones' camera, but he rounded up for interviews mamie van doren, tab hunter, director peter bogdanovich, critic roger ebert, historian neal gabler, babb' s widow mildred, the colorful david friedman (who worked for babb and whose film career has encompassed both a stint in paramount distribution and the formative years of the adult film industry) and writer - director john waters, a castle admirer who from time to time has kept the spirit of ballyhoo alive .
an outrageous producer and promoter of cheesy films, kroger babb was a direct throwback to the old west snake oil salesmen and adhered to p. t. barnum' s credo about a sucker being born every minute. starting his professional life as a sportswriter, he went to work at warner brothers in 1934 to promote attendance at their theater chains. among babb' s depression - era ballyhoo was a man buried alive and such attractions as the give - aways grocery night and dish night. babb also distributed the cheapie film
dust to dust
( 1943), actually the re - titled 1935
high school girl
with childbirth footage added for
educational value
, taking it from town to town and advertising that nurses would be in attendance at the theater. in 1944, he raised the money to shoot his tour de force ,
mom and dad
( which, amazingly, did not reach new york until 1957). shot by former heavyweight helmer william beaudine for $ 62, 000 in one week and starring has - been juvenile hardie albright ,
mom and dad
was a blood - and - thunder unwed mother warning, spiced up with that same stock childbirth footage. babb sent out some 300 road shows of the film, peddling booklets between shows, courting local ire and earning a small fortune .
mom ...
after retitling the film
the prince of peace
and creating an ad campaign with lines like
be brave bring your troubles and your family to history' s most sublime event
and
you' ll find god - right in there. babb ended up with a movie that had crowds ilined up even in sinful new york, where the daily news bannered its success as
the miracle of broadway .
we killed' em .
babb says with satisfaction .
the thing took off like a turpentined pup .
undaunted, babb made the film for his own hygenic productions company for a bargain - basement $ 62, 000 invested by 20 individuals. each investor, babb claims, made back $ 63, 000 for each thousand put in, except for one fellow who pulled out before the film was made and ended up a suicide. such was the power of
mom and dad .
its international grosses have been estimated at anywhere from $ 40 to $ 100 million, and even time magazine claimed in 1949 that one out of 10 people in the world had seen it .
that picture, you couldn' t giveit away, but i said
nothing' s hopeless if it' s advertised right,'
babb remembers now .
i told them to give me a bottle of gin and let me see what i could come up with overnight .
there was one film that babb regretted not finishing. father bingo never went beyond the concept stage. it was going to be an
expose
of church hall games of chance and a corrupt parish priest who manipulates the outcomes. babb allegedly boasted that this film would end up being
the best snow job of my life .
john waters still waxes poetic about father bingo and, like myself, deeply laments its unfinished passage into cinema oblivion. given the many controversies surrounding the catholic church it might have stood as a fitting nostradamus - style tribute to the memory of a great film producer .
“she shoulda said ‘no’! ” is a 1949 exploitation film in the spirit of morality tales such as the 1936 films reefer madness and marihuana. directed by sam newfield (listed as sherman scott) and starring lila leeds, it was inspired by the 1948 arrest of movie stars robert mitchum and leeds for marijuana possession. the actors, along with two others, were arrested after smoking marijuana at leeds’ home and were charged with the felony of narcotics possession. public empathy for mitchum resulted in his charge being downgraded, and his sentence of sixty days in jail was set aside in 1951. leeds served sixty days in prison, and after her release found no work in hollywood until she was cast in this film. the film was issued under many titles and struggled to find a distributor until film presenter kroger babb reissued it as the story of lila leeds and her exposé of the marijuana racket. it failed to achieve success under that title, and babb eventually changed it to “she shoulda said ‘no’! ”
understanding babb' s accomplishments involves unearthing one of the most fascinating and least remembered of film eras, the heyday of the traveling exploitation show. in the 1920s,' 30s and into the' 40s a group of men calling themselves
the 40 thieves
canvassed the american heartland, showing up in small towns with a film of a theoretically risque or sex educational nature, personally showing it for a night or two, and leaving with profits in hand. it was to be babb' s triumph to perfect this genre by producing and distributing the film the sun never set on ,
mom and dad .
the most successful classic exploitation film toured with the most ludicrous morality gimmicks. masquerading as sex education, mom and dad (1945), about a young girl' s unwanted pregnancy showed gory close - ups of venereal disease and live births. its director, kroger babb (1906 - 1980), a born huckster with a carnival background, ordered separate showings for men and women, required them to sing' the star spangled banner' before each performance, treated them to a lecture during the interval by elliot forbes, a' professor' of sex hygiene, and sold them copies of forbes' book the secrets of sensible sex. the film played for 23 years, provoked more than 400 court cases - and grossed more than $ 100 million .
babb spun this as a morality tale with a message; after all if joan had been allowed access to sober well - written sex education manuals she wouldn' t have found herself with a bun in the oven and no prospects for a decent life. to make sure that all those paying good money to see the film got the message, babb employed a
fearless sex commentator
by the name of elliot forbes to deliver an earnest facts - of - life spiel during intermission. at the close of the lecture, not missing a beat, a gaggle of hygienic employees fanned out through the aisles hawking genuine sex manuals for a buck apiece. the manuals were actually penned by mom and dad' s screenwriter, mildred horn (later to become babb' s wife and partner in crime). the second part of the show would then unspool and it was a real grabber: graphic educational representations of a penis - in - vagina followed by footage of a live birth (babb had gotten the film from the u. s. army' s medical corps). if the attendees were male (the film was shown to gender segregated audiences) real penises in various states of venereal decay were on graphic display; after all, a lack of sex knowledge can also wreak havoc on the crown jewels .
the first time we played there, the priests from the various parishes came down early that morning and put themselves in a chain by locking arms, they put a complete chain around the front of the theater and no one could get through, it was like a football line ,
babb says, still sort of amused .
attached is an advertisement for one of his films, “the prince of peace”. this rare surviving page is on an 11″x 17″ page that could be folded in half and mailed to the theater in advance of his arrival. they would typically bring hundreds of these and staple them up all over town to drum up attendance. the item could also be handed out on the street. during the intermission kroger would sell bibles and other spiritual literature .
babb never had as big a hit, though not for lack of trying. in 1948, he produced the religious epic
the prince of peace / the lawton story
( which finally hit new york in 1951). the film was part docudrama about an oklahoma passion play, and was bookended with trailers for babb' s upcoming epics
the best is yet to come
(
all there is to know about cancer !
) and
one too many
(
the screen' s only true story of alcoholism !
). the latter featured ruth warrick, victor killian and lyle talbot in a slick but campy look at the ill effects of booze .
as a result, we are now expecting to drive at least $ 270 million in additional pre - tax income for full - year 2018 ,
babb said in a statement .
these actions, which we have already begun to execute with urgency, take us a long way towards achieving a double - digit return on equity .
howard w. babb had gotten the nickname
kroger
from the name of the grocery store where he worked as a boy growing up in lees creek, ohio. born in 1906, he was a sportswriter, a newspaper reporter, an ad manager, and, by his late 20s, publicity manager for the chakeres - warners theater chain, where he distinguished himself with publicity stunts such as having a man buried alive in front of a theater. he got the exploitation roadshow bug when he hooked up with an outfit called cox and underwood, which was peddling an aging sex hygiene film called dust to dust that was actually a 1935 film called high school girl with a live - birth reel slapped onto the end. proving that he was born to be in the business, it' s the same plot babb would use in mom and dad. (the forty thieves frequently quarreled over territories, but they never sued for copyright infringement. of course, many of them were carnival men, who regarded all cons as ancient and passed down from generation to generation, but they may also have simply sold stories the same way they occasionally sold sideshow acts. )
howard w. babb had gotten the nickname
kroger
from the name of the grocery store where he worked as a boy growing up in lees creek, ohio. born in 1906, he was a sportswriter, a newspaper reporter, an ad manager, and, by his late 20s, publicity manager for the chakeres - warners theater chain, where he distinguished himself with publicity stunts such as having a man buried alive in front of a theater. he got the exploitation roadshow bug when he hooked up with an outfit called cox and underwood, which was peddling an aging sex hygiene film called dust to dust that was actually a 1935 film called high school girl with a live - birth reel slapped onto the end. proving that he was born to be in the business, it' s the same plot babb would use in mom and dad. (the forty thieves frequently quarreled over territories, but they never sued for copyright infringement. of course, many of them were carnival men, who regarded all cons as ancient and passed down from generation to generation, but they may also have simply sold stories the same way they occasionally sold sideshow acts. )
in today' s carefree, enlightened times, when films like mom
and dad
could probably be shown on television -
oh, it' d be nothing, very tame, it' d be a sunday school picture ,
babb himself says - it is hard to imagine what a fuss its showing stirred up in the late 1940s .
in some ways, this is my favorite page of the book, despite relatively sedate graphics. the two messages from babb are direct challenges to exhibitors, confrontational and dismissive. so the movies aren' t fresh first release material? if people haven' t seen' em, they' re new enough. the implication of the box at the bottom is that babb is handing you, the drive - in or grindhouse proprietor a perfect, can' t - fail recipe, and if you blow it it' s your own damn fault. to a theater owner, this is a more effective affront than asking if he' s a real man! what kind of showman are you? can you handle
uncle tom' s cabin (kroger babb, 1969). first us showing one sheet (27. 75
x 42
). drama. starring john kitzmiller, herbert lom, olive moorefield, eleonora rossi drago, mylene demongeot, o. w. fischer, gertraud mittermayr, bibi jelinek, harold bradley, thomas fritsch, juliette greco, eartha kitt. directed by geza radvanyi. an unrestored poster with bright color and a clean overall appearance. it may have general signs of use, such as slight edge wear with a small tear in the bottom right border with archival tape on the verso, slight trim in the right and left borders in the white area not affecting the art, light fold wear, and minor surface crinkles. please see full - color, enlargeable image below for more details. folded, f +
babb was involved in the production and marketing of many films and television shows, promoting each according to his favorite marketing motto :
you gotta tell' em to sell' em .
[ 2 ] his films ranged from sex education–style dramas to
documentaries
on foreign cultures, intended to titillate audiences rather than to educate them, maximizing profits via marketing gimmicks .
with a friend, and as a result had the courage to tell her parents about her predicament. they were shocked, but forgave her. the girl gave birth to a healthy boy, which was adopted by a childless couple. the girl then completed high school and is now engaged to a fine young man. the mayor goes on to thank babb for having the courage
, directed by ol' one - shot himself, william beaudine, is babb' s masterpiece of ballyhoo. promising the audience that
you... will see the birth of a baby! both normal and cesarean! ,
the ad campaigns do not exactly lie. but they also imply frank sexuality, uncompromising depiction of clinical science and to enlighten through education. the
howard w. " kroger " babb ( december 30 , 1906 – january 28 , 1980 ) was an american film and television producer and showman . his marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman 's , with roots in the medicine-show tradition . self-described as " america 's fearless young showman , " he is best known for his presentation of the 1945 exploitation film mom and dad , which was added to the national film registry of the library of congress in 2005 . babb was involved in the production and marketing of many films and television shows , promoting each according to his favorite marketing motto : " you got ta tell 'em to sell 'em . " his films ranged from sex education-style dramas to " documentaries " on foreign cultures , intended to titillate audiences rather than to educate them , maximizing profits via marketing gimmicks . 
howard w. " kroger " babb (december 30, 1906 – january 28, 1980) was an american film and television producer and showman. his marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman's, with roots in the medicine-show tradition. self-described as " america's fearless young showman, " he is best known for his presentation of the 1945 exploitation film mom and dad, which was added to the national film registry of the library of congress in 2005. babb was involved in the production and marketing of many films and television shows, promoting each according to his favorite marketing motto: " you got ta tell'em to sell'em. " his films ranged from sex education-style dramas to " documentaries " on foreign cultures, intended to titillate audiences rather than to educate them, maximizing profits via marketing gimmicks.
howard w. " kroger " babb (december 30, 1906 – january 28, 1980) was an american film and television producer and showman. his marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman's, with roots in the medicine-show tradition. self-described as " america's fearless young showman, " he is best known for his presentation of the 1945 exploitation film mom and dad, which was added to the national film registry of the library of congress in 2005. babb was involved in the production and marketing of many films and television shows, promoting each according to his favorite marketing motto: " you got ta tell'em to sell'em. " his films ranged from sex education-style dramas to " documentaries " on foreign cultures, intended to titillate audiences rather than to educate them, maximizing profits via marketing gimmicks.