Bank Night was a lottery used to promote the film industry during the Great Depression. People could enter to win prizes, but technically no purchase was necessary. Bank Night was short-lived and banned in some states, but it may have contributed significantly to the revenue of many movie theaters.
Bank Night was a form of lottery used to promote the motion picture industry in the 1930s when the Great Depression made some consumers reluctant to spend money, especially on frivolities like movies. While Bank Night was a short-lived tradition, some historians have suggested that it may have contributed significantly to the revenue of many movie theaters, enabling them to survive during the lean period of the Depression. By 1940, Bank Night had completely vanished, thanks to Bank Night bans and changing ideas about how to do business.
During Bank Night, people could go to the theater and enter a lottery of prizes. Technically, no purchase was necessary, but many people bought movie tickets, especially since Bank Night events often took place during intermission. As names were drawn and called, people had to scurry around the stage to claim their prizes, or risk losing them. Prizes ranged from various consumables to cash.
The concept was developed by Charles Yaeger, who held the first Bank Night in 1931 in Colorado. Recognizing a good thing when they saw it, many theaters tried to get in on the action, holding their own version. Yaeger established a franchise, however, by allowing theaters to buy official Bank Night gear, swag, and movies, and he protected his franchise aggressively, suing several theaters for holding Bank Nights.
Bank Night’s structure was designed to get around the strict restrictions on lottery play that were in place in many states. Because people didn’t need to buy anything, Bank Night was not subject to regulation, even though it was obviously a form of lottery. However, some theaters began to resist the idea, and Bank Night’s popularity declined rapidly after its peak in 1936.
Today, Bank Night survives mostly in the form of a footnote to the history of 1930s cinema, explaining how some cinemas survived while others struggled. For people in the troubled economic times of the 1930s, however, Bank Night would have been a very exciting event, especially in smaller towns, and was often eagerly awaited by residents. Sometimes the cash prizes could be quite large, creating a great incentive to show up for Bank Night.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
