Exhibitors Herald (1927)

September 3, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 47 r THE THEATRE jS^Ajiepartment of Practical Showmanship EXHIBITOR SPIKES KICK AGAINST FILM WITH AD Larschan Uses Open Letter in Newspaper to Defend ^^Captain Salvation’’ Exhibitors are often confronted with the problem of answering prominent people in their town who make protests against pictures run l)y the exhiljitor. Even though the protests are uncalled for, they must be answered, and answering them satisfactorily often proves difficult. Few better examples could he found than the way in which Sidney Larschan, manager of the Meserole theatre, Brooklyn, N. Y., of the Small Strausberg circuit, handled this problem recently when he ran “Captain Salvation,” a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. The picture was bitterly attacked by Edward P. Doyle, Assemblyman from the 15th Assembly District, in a letter written to Larschan. The protest was met by Larschan in a two column ad in the newspaper, in which Doyle’s letter was printed under the head, “A Protest from Assemblyman Edward P. Doyle.” Directly underneath this was run an open letter to iJoyle from I.arschan. Doyle charged that the picture “is something that tends to impair the morals of the people of our community — Greenpoint,” and in another paragraph, he says: “I am not an advocate of censorship, to the point of being an extremist, but I do believe in decency; I do not believe in mocking the Priest, the Minister or the Rabbi, and when an effort is made to illustrate the depravity to which a Minister of God shall descend — when there is absolutely no truth or semblance of fact to the fiction — such as is done in the screen production of ‘Captain Salvation’ then I believe it is time to call a halt. Don’t you think SO? In Larschan’s open letter printed in the ad, he answers this by saying in part, “The community will be glad to know that you are safe-guarding its morals. In this instance you have become unduly alarmed. The Meserole theatre has always made an honest effort to present pictures and entertainment created for the entire family. Clean entertainment is always in our minds. “ ‘Captain Salvation’ was written by Frederick William Wallace. As a novel it enjoyed a sale of many thousands of copies. It ran in serial form in the Hearst newspapers throughout the United States and Canada. Never has a protest been submitted against this story. As a screen production, it stood the rigid censorship tests of the New York State Board of Censors. It bears their license L-7913.” Larschan continues in the letter to meet every argument produced by Doyle in a respectful but firm manner, and to bring out the features of the' story in a way that anyone reading the letter will not only agree with him, but will want to see the picture. Larschan ends his letter by saying, “Thanks for your letter. Assemblyman Doyle. You are a representative well worthy of the community you represent. We invite you, together, with your family, to view this picture when it is shown at the Meserole theatre. “In closing you have this assurance that as long as this theatre remains in the Small-Strausberg circuit the community will always have the pleasure of knowing that we aim to present the best entertainment available and of the type intended for children as well as adults.” Larschan’s method of answering Doyle is a masterpiece in meeting a problem of this sort. His letter thoroughly answers Doyle, and at the same time it spreads valuable propaganda for the theatre, and advertises the picture better than any straight ad would have done. “Mr. Wu” T. E. COOK, Liberty theatre, Ada, Okla. : A special lobb}' display was created and presented. A 24 foot banner was placed in front of the theatre, and a special hand lettered cutout was also placed in the lobby with drapes done in green, yellow and purple. A small frame, built and lettered, was placed on each side of the lobby. Photos of the star and players were strung around the entrance. An artist was hired who sat in the lobby of the theatre and painted a picture of Lon Chaney on black velvet. A small sign was placed on an easel, with the announcement that the picture would be given away on the opening night of the picture. This advertisement appeared in a Brooklyn newspaper and effectively answers a protest made by a patron against “Captain Salvation,’’ shown at the Meserole theatre, in Brooklyn. Notice how the picture was advertised at the top and bottom of the ad.