The Moving picture world (November 1922-December 1922)

December 16, 1922 M 0 V I N G P I CT U R E W O RLD 659 Shook Up Cocktail in Lobby Display Realizing that he should make a nice piece of money out of "Manslaughter," J. P. Harrison, of the Hippodrome Theatre, Waco, felt it would be worth while to spend a little money on his display. He had large cutouts of Meighan and Leatrice Joy on either side of the opening, and in the centre was another cutout of Miss Joy, quietly dressed in green and red velvet. Her right hand held a wineglass and the arm was kept in motion by a motor with eccentric wheel. The glass was one of the once-popular trick glasses, blown double and with the liquid sealed between the two skins, so there was no danger of spilling a drop. It helped to bring a 20 per cent, increase in the receipts and please that many more patrons. A Scare Card Down in the southwest they take the Ku Klux Klan more seriously than they do further north, because they are better organized. This gave C. A. Runyon, of the Runyon Theatre, Barnsdale, Okla., a chance for a fine stunt. ♦ He overprinted red cards with three yellow Ks, and made each the initial of one of the "keeps" in the text, which reads : "It matters not how the election went. Keep your mouth shut. Keep your eyes open. Keep watching for T Am the Law.'" As it was the first shot on the Curwood picture, and as they were distributed in sealed envelopes, slipped under doorways, it not only stirred up the town but was made the basis of a dispatch to the county seat daily paper, and came back to the town through that. The card will not reproduce, but the three initials are about one inch high on a card 254 by 4}/2 inches and the yellow form is printed first with the black above it. Hooked the Police M. F. Estes, of the Beacham Theatre, Orlando, Fla., used the theme of "Manslaughter" to sell the police the idea of a free advertisement. Every motorcycle cop in town carried a banner asking "What Is Manslaughter?" and the Beacham used enough street stufif to hook up the answer. Mr. Estes also borrowed a police uniform A Pan-amount Release SHE SHOOK A COCKTAIL, NOT THE SHIMMY, IN "MANSLAUGHTER" J. P. Harrison, of the Hippodrome, Waco, made a special cutout of Leatrice Joy in "Manslaughter," with an animated arm which shook a wineglass containing some liquid presumed to be more or less alcoholic, to match the play. which he put on a dummy as part of the accident tableau in the lobby, and says that people not only took notice, but they brought their friends to see, and business went up a full hundred per cent on a three-day run. On the face of this it would seem to be good exploitation, but we think that it is risky to get a gruesome display in the lobby of a theatre where the associated idea is enitrtainment. This tableau, which has been used extensively all over the country, is best retained in the Chamber of Horrors in the waxwork show. It may attract many persons, but_ it will turn away others and give them an impression that will react against coming displays. Don't throw away your patrons by exploiting a poor picture, and do not bore them by not booming the good ones. Do your best work on the best show. Steam Heated Sands for Paramount Play J. M. Edgar Hart has been at it again. He used a desert miniature for "Burning Sands," and the sands were really hot. To achieve this effect he sank a tank into a bed of sand which formed his desert, the sand base being four by seven feet. The tank had an opening two by three feet, covered with fine mesh copper gauze with a thin layer of sand on top. A.', electric heater in the tank not only heated the water, causing vapor to rise through the sand, but it heated the sand itself and gave the shimmering effect of heat waves, which he enhanced with careful lighting. Of course it did not make the play any better, but it certainly bettered business, and then they liked the play and told others. And the stunt set him back only six dollars. .1 ( BUILT UP A SMITHY TO SELL OUT ON "HUMAN HEARTS" The boys in front are using the hearts in hoops described some weeks ago. The smithy is in the rear with red fire in the forge. It is nine feet square by seven high. Planned by M. F. Estes, of the Beacham Theatre, Orlando, Ha. All for Six Dollars Getting an essay contest and a window, along with a lobby display for the net sum of $0 was what R. P. Whitfield did for the Majestic Theatre, Austin, Texas. He could not tic the local paper to a contest on "The Cradle," so the house offered prizes for the best essays on "Why does the Power within the cradle rule the world?" A department store took the long end, giving the first prize, selling the others for the six dollars and making a display of the entire outfit in one of its windows. It also loaned Mr. Whitfield enough toys and nursery furniture for a lobby display. Took It Seriously Bill Johnson. Lem Stewart's Texas proxy, sends along the prize wining essays, and they arc not at all poor, showing that the public took the stunt seriously. The contest closed the day before the picture opened, to get the climax of interest at the proper time. Essay subjects which require the contestant to see the picture never have the same general interest and do not, as a rule, pull as much money. Whitfield planned to bring them down to the opening day all warmed up.