Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

Max 6, 1939 SUO W M EN'S T 1^ A I ) k \ 1 E W Page 17 Dealing realistically with the booking, advertising and exploitation of the newsreel, serial and short, and emphasizing their importance. Howell, Kreag Winners in MCM's Nationwide Short Subject Contest "Amateur Talent Quest" Tlie Stanley-Warner Daily News "A)iiatcur Talent Quest" is in full siving in Philadelphia. Top photo shozvs Sam Sax, Eastern head of Vitaphone studios, studying a movie contract z\.<hile Ted Schlanger and Lee Stezvart, casting director, look on. In the center photo. Sax, Schlanger, Stezvart and Ed Schrciber, Vitaphone publicist, ride through the City of Brotherly Loir zuith a police escort, z^'hile in the bottom picture Sax, Schlanger and Stezvart audition talented youngsters for possible appearances in a nezu Vitaphone Kiddie Follies soon to go into production in the company's Brooklyn studios. Strachan Uses Extensive and Standard Campaign on M of T Manager J. Knox Strachan of the Leroy Theatre, Portsmouth, O., uses an extensive and standard campaign in selling the March of Time. He has a mailing list of some five hundred names, school teachers and other fans, and this is covered regularly via post cards. Strachan uses a trailer one week in advance of playdate and considerable display material in the lobby. For his newspaper setup, Strachan uses extra space on the opening day with space equal to the feature attraction throughout the run. He sends out to newspapers a feature story on the opening day and a review on the second day. March of Time always gets full billing on the marquee of the house. TOMMY HOWELL, Bison Theatre, Dalhis, Texas, has been awarded first prize in MGM Shortstory's first nationwide shorts exploitation contest. Second prize went to Ward B. Kreag, Community Theatre, Catskill, N. Y. Over 162 entries were judged by the Shortstory editorial l:)oard members, which include Howard Dietz, Si Seadler, Oscar A. Doob, Herb Morgan, and Howard Strickling. Ray Bell, Loew's Washington publicist, served as judge. First prize winner Howell will receive his choice of a seven-day all-expense trip via American Airlines to either the MGM studios in California or the New York World's Fair for his Diaper Derby for men only, which he staged from a Shortstory suggestion in connection with Robert Benchley's "How To Raise A Baby." Served Double Purpose Making this stunt serve a double purpose in providing a direct boxoffice incentive as well as a publicitj^ device for his picture, Manager Howell presented his Diaper Derby as a special stage attraction and gave it the following showmanly attention: Special trailer announcement two weeks in advance; teaser ads in all newspapers ten days in advance and special two-column ad day before opening; six advance publicity breaks in three Dallas dailies; daily radio buildup one week in advance on Station WRR; personal announcement before a regular meeting of the Sunset High School Dad's Club; special Diaper Derby heralds distributed house-to-house; 40' x 60' advance lobby set piece and special overhead display of diapers hung from clothes line across outer lobby; window display of gold crown to be awarded winner as King of the Diaper Changers. All diapers used in the contest were supplied by Sears, Roebuck Co; sound truck, well "bannered with diapers, toured Dallas streets a day before. With three Parent-Teacher Association officials as judges, Dallas football coach Herman Crowley holding the stop-watch at March of Time Plans Tieups To Aid Small Town Exhibitors A number of tieups planned to aid showmen in small towns who play the March of Time have currently been made. Through the National Association of Manufacturers, 40,000 leaflets have been mailed to smalltown members of the Association describing the issue, "State of the Nation," and telling of the part the N.A.M. played. Covering the Boy Scout release of the March of Time, 50,000 folders have been mailed by the National Boy Scouts home office primarily to those on the Scout mailing list residing in small town situations. Another tieup effected to aid showmen in small towns is that made between March of Time and the publishers of Town Weekly Magazine Section. Tozvn appears in small town weeklies, being used by 334 newspapers which have a circulation of some 2,000,000. Tozvn is carrying a series of articles on March of Time, the first centered around the origin of the screen production. The second story will be on the "Voice of Time." the changing table and line coach Keifer Strickland waving a diaper starting flag, Howell's Diaper Derby got under way with a flourish of trumpets by the Sons Of The American Legion drum and bugle corps. For the record, the winner's time, using the square style diaper fold with two safety pins, was 34.4 seconds — including time for powdering! Showman Kreag's Peace Contest, which wins for him a six-day all-expense cruise to Bermuda via the Furness I^ine. was from a Shortstory exploitation suggestion for the Passing Ir'arade subject, "The Story of Alfred Nobel," which read: "With world diplomats today advancing one Peace plan after another, almost every individual has his own private theory for the prevention of war. In connection with your showing, get your newspaper to feature a contest in which readers will receive guest tickets and other prizes for the most original idea on how to insure Peace." A Series of Breaks So well did the editors of the Catskill Daily Mail like this idea that they gave it front page position for eight consecutive days, a break — or rather, a series of breaks — which exceeded the fondest expectations of Manager Kreag. Moreover, each and every Page One contest story averaged onethird of a column and carried direct selling copy for Kreag's picture. Not content, however, to let the newspaper do all the work, Kreag established contact with the heads of 24 different organizations including the Catskill public schools, American Legion, Parent-Teacher Association, Public Library and St. Patrick's Academy, each of which cooperated in announcing the contest and the picture. Sent to U. S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, was Kreag's winning Peace plan which would require the heads of all squabbling nations to view several hours of war movies before making an attempt to arbitrate their differences. London Display for 'Terdinand" For its 30th birthday celebration, Selfridge's devoted the zvhole of its Oxford street frontage to 20 animated and illuminated scenes zvith captions telling the story of ]]\ilt Disney's RKO-Radio Technicolor cartoon. "Ferdinand the Bull." The display zvas arranged by Walt Disney Mickey Mouse and Art Display service for the cartoon's London premiere.