Paramount Pep-O-Grams (1927)

Page Twelve P E P-O-G RAMS WHAT A ROAD SHOW PICTURE IS (Continued front Page 10) why the roadshow is vital to the motion picture business. A picture which is of such excellent quality that it is worthy of special presentations,' but which does not receive same, has certain limitations as a money getter when released to the picture houses. Such a film is not likely to net more than a certain amount. But if it is exploited as a roadshow, with the tremendous advertising and publicity which always accompany $2 films, the picture will yield its producers at least 3 3 1 per cent more in the picture houses, plus its roadshow profits, plus the invaluable prestige it will give the company sponsoring it. The roadshow department is the main axle upon which the distribution department should operate in selling the bigger and better grade of pictures. Unless a film actually possesses the qualities of a roadshow picture it should not be exploited as such. I have always been very strongly opposed to advertising pictures as roadshow pictures unless I sincerely believed that they would hold up. However, if a film warrants handling as a roadshow, is presented as a $2 entertainment, and then fails to hold up, that same picture will derive just as much revenue, and perhaps more, in the picture houses than it would if it were released as merely a routine film. In other words, roadshowing a film cannot impair its sales value to the picture houses and chances are that it will considerably' increase its worth. THE BALL ENTERTAINMENT This is genuine stop-press news to tell you the names of a few of the headliners who will entertain you at the Ball. . Vincent Lopez and his two orchestras will be there, Paul Whiteman will have a regular presentation, Mary Eaton and Oscar Shaw will come from their show, and Ed Wynn will be The Perfect Fool. THE FIRST YEAR March 25th, just two day's after the Ball; is a very important day for Paramount Pepsters. It is the first anniversary of our occupancy of the Paramount Building, at the Crossroads of the World. Although last November 19th marked the first anniversary of the opening of the Paramount Theatre, it will not be until March 25th that we may celebrate the completion of our first year in the Paramount Building. So far as the Club is concerned— if the Ball succeeds as \ye believe it. will, then we will surely have wonderful cause for celebrating the first year. Lady: “Could I see the captain?” First Mate: “He’s forward, Miss.” Lady Passenger: “I’m not afraid. I’ve been out with college -boy's.” ROAMING TO ROME WITH SAMMY Last month Sammy Cohen ended his Cohen's Tour at Bologna, where he stopped off to sample the asparagus (or is it delicatessen) for which the place is famous. This month we go forward a few more steps with him on a journey which ultimately brought him right back to New York, and to the home office of Paramount’s Foreign Department. Turn back to last month’s issue, pick up the cords of the story', and proceed: Florence may belong to Italy by the grace of God and Mussolini, but it is over-run with Americans thru the courtesy of Cook’s Tours and the American Express Company. I was a little puzzled at first to account for the tremendous popularity of this city. Then it suddenly dawned on me. Florence has “it”. And Americans being ardent admirers of this elinorglynish quality flock here in great numbers. At any rate, a visitor feels perfectly at home in Florence no matter what part of the States he comes from. I heard English spoken here with a broad a. a Brooklyn accent, a Southern drawl and a Western twang. To the dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, a trip around town is productive of sights and scenes strongly reminiscent of New York. Believe it or not. Florence has its lower East Side section. And in one of the open squares' of the city I heard a plausible young man exhorting the passing throng to “step right up. ladies and gentlemen, and get a $5 silk umbrella for fifty cents.” The language may have sounded strange to me but there was no mistaking the patter! As one who has viewed with alarm the increasing tendency on the part of the flaming flapper to make both ends meet in the matter of dress, I was not uninterested in this sign tacked up outside a church: “All the women must be modestly dressed to enter the church, with the neck covered and with long sleeves." If you go in for art with a capital ‘‘A’’; you can’t afford to pass up Florence. It contains some of the world’s finest pictures by such masters as Tintoretto, Vandyck, Titian. Watteau and— Paramount. The former are' to be seen in the marvelous art galleries and museums; the latter are exhibited in the best theatres in town. I am frank to admit that I learned about art from Florence! ’Twas there. I discovered that the three “r’s” mean something more than ‘readin,’ ‘riting’ and ‘rithmetic.’ They also stand for Rembrandt. Raphael and Rubens, the famous painters. Live and learn! I had alwavs thought Rubens was the name of a New York restaurant that charged $1 for a sardine sandwich! A year ago the name Ponto Vecchi would have meant less to me than abracadabra. Today I haunt “Ask Me Another” parties in. the hope that someone will bring the question up. so that I can answer in a loud, firm voice: “Ponto Vecchi is probably the world’s most unique bridge. It is one of a series of bridges that extend across the Arno river which divides Florence in two parts. But. it is different from the rest in that it is lined on either side with small iewelry shops." There must be more than a hundred of these emporiums, hardly larger than booths, each with its own flashy little window dlsplav. each intent on luring the stray lira from the spendthrifty tourist. Verily a fascinating sight! I said good-bye to Florence with a sigh of regret. Florence has charm. Florence has personality. She sure vamped me. I hated to leave. Still, there was the comforting thought that Rome was waiting to welcome me. Rome — -the Eternal City! Rome — ihome of the Pope! Rome — headquarters of Mussolini! Rome— where everything is royal except the debt — that’s public! On to Rome — all roads lead to Rome!