The Moving Picture Weekly (1919-1922)

S2 The Moving Picture Weekly May 27, 1922 At LYRIC THEATRE, Yukon DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOl WERE A KID— S-raicrht from the Shoulder Talk by Carl l.-iommle President of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Do you ren-ember reading "Robinson Crusoe' when you vera only a youncster — ? Do you remember the thrill you sot when Rot. Inson Crusoe was shipwrecked on an Island — ? And how he built himself a hut? And road.himself a suit of clothes out of £Oat3kin—nnl exactly a Il.-irt Schaffner A Marr model, to be sure but a dou'soned serviceable outfit at that — ? And how hairy he looked and what a picturcst-ifigure he was with his flapper costume and hK fussv umbrella and his lonir-barreled (run ? And. gee n*hiz! — will you ever foreret the day l:<was moseylns alone; the he.:eh and sudonly discovered the print of a naked foot on the sand?— Veil sir. the Universal has made "RoMnsoa Crusoe" Into a chapter play and the I^vrlc Theatre Yukon, is KOlne; to show It. that Is so simply perfeet In reproducing your boyhood mental picture" of it that It will fairly knock you off your feet' 'I (Con t like to call it a "aerlnP* because It has cr.or,e ftlnFl* an*! tone to It thnn any serial ever mide In Ihe hlrtory of the business All the heroes and heroines who ever fell o(r •y clifT in serials of the past few vears will not ?-lv~ vou She heart-Jumps that you will pet from "Robinson Crusoe." Harry Myers is "Robinson" Crusoe" from head to foot. He surpasses even his excellent pcrforrna tree iV '-A Connecticut Yankee In Klna; Arthur's Court " H's "ftosinson Cr'i«oe" is bv far the Rreateftl piece af work he ever did. Under the direction of Robert Hill .T;d supported by a carefully han'l-pleked .-act. I>e carries you back to the days when vou lay flit. on your stomach In the attic and followed ihe amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe Watch for the announcement for the starting date. Manager Battiston's Herald for Which a Local Clothing Shop Paid word 'coming' around town. Ten days prior to starting I put out one thousand cards (see above). As the writing was so minute and the card so small I thought the cards would not be read, I aroused their interest by a simple method. After the printer had made up my thousand cards, I had him print four with one word missing on each. I announced from the stage and on the screen that the persons holding the cards with the word missing would be given passes for the entire serial. In that way the cards were carefully read, and many who had not received them applied at the box-office for them. An ad of a local clothing shop on the reverse side of the card paid for the cost of printing. "Three or four days before my opening date I started to get complaints from people asking me as a favor not to show the picture until the strike was settled; they and their children wanted to follow the picture but could not afford to do so as they had not worked for more than a month. I knew what these poor people were up against — other nights had been so bad I could hardly open at all, so I hit on an idea which worked splendidly. I made a big sign which L placed in front of the theatre, ran a slide, and announced from the stage: 'The manager of this theatre has arranged to stand with his patrons through this strike by paying half of their admission to "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" until the labor situation is settled.' . 66 T PASSED a ticket each Monday I for the following Monday, worded: 'This ticket and 10 cents admits you to see the next chapter of "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," ' and for the children I arranged with the school principals to pass them a ticket reading: 'This ticket and 5 cents will admit you to see the next chapter of "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe." ' The people thought this was a great favor and were with me, heart and soul. Even the Community Band came and played in my lobby afternoon and evening, gratis, and without being asked, as a return favor. "We had 493 children out of 510 spectators at the school children's matinee. Our usual juvenile attendance at night is from ten to forty. In the evening show we broke our house record. Our advertising included one 6-sheets, two 3-sheets, four 1-sheets, a set of lobby photos and five hundred heralds. A week in ad The Community Band's Free Concert at Lyric, Yukon, Pa. vance of our opening we used an automobile with a banner on each side and cut-outs of Robinson Crusoe on front and rear. The entire cost of putting over this excellent chapterplay was $5.30." OF THE contestants who were awarded honorable mention, the following campaigns may prove instructive to other exhibitors as campaigns which, though excellent in themselves, were not considered sufficiently good to win a money prize. Universal believes the exhibitors who were not successful in winning fiftydollar cash prizes this week will take the decision of the judges good naturedly and will understand that, when there are but four prizes to be divided among scores of contestants, some must go without an award. To the more fortunate contestants, named above, Universal extends its hearty congratulations and best wishes for continued success in the presentation of "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe." TO those exhibitors who were not so successful in winning prizes, Universal offers regrets, but feels sure that their success in putting over this magnificent chapter-play, due in large part, to their effective campaigns, will reconcile them to the loss of one of the fifty-dollar prizes. To those who have not yet entered Universal^ $7,000 Cash Prize Competition for Exploitation Ideas on "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," a word of advice is offered: SEND PHOTOGRAPHS of your stunt and of yourself when you forward a description of your campaigns to the Serial Contest Manager, Universal Film Manufacturing Company, 1600 Broadway, New York City. ENTER THE "ROBINSON CRUSOE" CONTEST NOW First Prize (Bov and Girl), Two §50 "DAYTON" Bicycles Second Prize (Boy and Girl), Two $10 GOLD PIECES Third Prize (Bov and Girl), Two $5 GOLD PIECES Entries May Be Made Until July 15th — Contest Closes Aug. 15th HERE'S HOW THEY STAND (Here a tabulated list of contestants is inserted and changed daily) BUY A COUPON BOOK NOW! Ten 10c Tickets for $1. Tickets good at any performance and on any day until used. Two 10c tickets exchangeable at the boxoffice for one 20c ticket. 10 Yotes with One Coupon Book 70 Yotes with Five Coupon Books (If purchased together) 200 Yotes w ith Ten Coupon Books (If purchased together) Copy Used on 12-Sheet Posters in Knickerbocker Lobby and Foyer, Columbus, Ohio Cuddle Up to Universal!