Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

October 21, 1939 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Page 9 FRANK CAPRA'S WHEN Frank Capra makes a picture, the event in itself is news. He has made only one a year for the past few years but has won awards on three of them. The fact that it is an event can be capitalized b}' each theatre playing the picture by making its playdate an event. As we write this, Li^e has just come out with a pictorial story of "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington." The pictures in this magazine can be cut out and mounted on a lobby board long in advance of your showing with no other copy than the name of the picture and your playdates or simply the words "Coming Soon." "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" has a cast of well known favorites. The list is too long for us to enumerate them all but you can spot pictures of them on a lobby board with a few words about the character they portray underneath. But besides the cast, you have a director's name to sell. Capra's name has come to be familiar to movie audiences since he startled them with "It Happened One Night." So use his picture and name in as much of the advertising as possible. Give It Personal Endorsement' It's the kind of a picture which invites the personal endorsement campaign. Get up on the stage and tell them about it. Put your name in the advertising you do both in newspapers and in programs and heralds._ Election Day is coming soon and the picture is such a natural for that occasion that every print in the country will probably be busy. So rush in your playdates for that date now, if it will be available for you then. If you are lucky enough, you can stage a regular election-type ballyhoo parade. Stage a "Smith Day." Every "Mr. Smith" can be admitted free and can be brought to the theatre in a car. There are special buttons you can give them. Have the Mayor proclaim Smith Day. Get the American Legion to join the parade. They even appear in the film, so it's a natural tieup. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts should join the parade because "Mr. Smith" spends most of his time in the picture, fighting for a boys' camp and he's the leader of the Boy Rangers. Your Senators should be invited to head the parade, providing, of course, that Congress has adjourned by the time you play the film. Sponsor a Boys' Camp There is one big idea suggested in the press book which we suggest to you in the hope that you will use it. If only one manager does so, it will be well worth while but we hope there will be man}^ more. The idea is to establish a permanent boys" camp for the kids of your town. It ties up directly with the picture and will get you a world of publicity and good will besides being a worthy project for any community. You'll have to give a benefit performance to finance the camp. It should be at advanced prices and all box office receipts over your regular admissions should be donated to the fund. If you are playing the picture on percentage you'll have to make your own arrangements with Columbia. You'll have to enlist the support of various organizations in your town. Be sure that whatever you do your commitments do not extend beyond your playdate of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Complete details of this stunt will be found in the press book. Confesf on Capra Pictures Since every Capra picture has been an event, you can run a six-day contest in which scenes from former Capra pictures are printed and newspaper readers are asked to state what the name of the picture was, who were the stars and what was the well known line in the particular scene. This makes a fine contest for tieing up these previous successes with "Mr. Smith." Newspaper cooperation is essential on this picture and should be easy to obtain. Besides the "Smith Parade" and the Boys Camp idea suggested above there are a number of other good newspaper angles. For instance, run photos and stories about every Mr. Smith in your city. This should be good meat for newspaper cooperation. You might vary this idea by a contest to find the most popular of all the Mr. Smiths in town. Another good contest is suggested by the layout in Life. One page is devoted to all the funny faces that James Stewart makes and tells how his motives were misunderstood. You could run a funny-face contest for photographs showing local people in a variety of funny poses with prizes to the best. Or even better, you can liave them mugging right in the lobby. If there is a merchant in your town named Smith, he'd better look out — if you are a wise showman. Because there are plenty of good ways to get cooperative advertising. "Mr. Smith and his friends shop at "; "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington so Mrs. Smith buys her gowns at " These are just a couple of the many ways you can use the title for cooperative ads with any merchant. For instance, here's how to get the telephone company in on it. "Blankville is proud of the 328 Smiths among its telephone subscribers;" "When Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, he keeps in personal touch with his home and office by telephone." The telegraph companies should be easy to tie up with because there are thousands of telegrams shown in the picture. When James Stewart, in the picture, arrives in Washington he has a number of carrier pigeons. This suggests the idea of having a group of carrier pigeons owned by local people taken out of town and bearing a message about the picture being freed in a contest to see which arrives first. The owner of the winner could get a prize. Boy Ranger Buttons Among the novelties you can get to put the picture over are Boy Ranger buttons for the kids, just like those used in the picture; doorknob hangers resembling the brief case Mr. Smith takes to Washington with him; buriiper strips for automobiles and directional arrows pointing toward Washington or the theatre with copy on them about the picture and your playdates. H. V. Kaltenborn appears in the picture for one scene. The famous commentator is on the air several times a week. Don't forget to get a spot announcement just after or before each broadcast over your local station stating that he can be seen on the screen at your theatre in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." If your town is on any bus, rail or air line which has service direct to Washington, you should be able to get tieups on this angle. "When Mr. Smith Goes to Washington he uses Lines." Excursion flyers plugging the picture and excursions might be used effectively in railroad, bus and airline stations. With all the merchant tieups suggested above, it should be comparatively easy to promote a free trip to Washington for the winner of any of the contests suggested in this Showmanalysis. Posf Cards From Washington The Mayflower Hotel, one of Washington's leading hostelries has made available thousands of post cards, which you can obtain from Columbia's home office. You can have these imprinted and sent out from Washington, lending a touch of authenticity to the whole idea. We haven't room to say more although there is much more to say. All this only goes to prove that when "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" goes into your theatre, you should go to town in selling it. Original story by Lewis R. Foster. Screenplay by Sidney Buchman. Produced and directed by Frank Capra.