Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

14 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 8, 1949 Boston^s Libraries AND IT WAS ILLUMINATED ALL NIGHT. Manager Roy A. McLeod of the Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, B. C, Canada, is mighty proud of this window promotion on J. Arthur Rank's "The Perfect Woman." And with good reason, for the window is quite large (8x24 feet) and was illuminated all night. Furthermore, it is situated in a well-trafficked section. The figure of Patricia Roc, incidentally, was lifesize, and that drew the eyes of many of the boys. E Ticker's 'Pocono' Set for WilkeS'Barre Premiere World premiere of "Pocono," independent color film made by Joe E. Elicker in the famous Pennsylvania mountains, was scheduled to take place Friday (7) at the Iram Temple, WilkesBarre, Pa., to be followed by an indefinite engagement at the Shriners temple. The film was to be shown in its original 16-mm. version. Although "Pocono" was produced for commercial release in theatres, Elicker said he would not permit any 35-mm. printing and national release until after the Wilkes-Barre showing, at which audience reaction was to determine if any further editing would be necessary. Considerably Enlivened Engagement of "In the Good Old Summertime" at the Ritz Theatre in Tulsa, Okla., was considerably enlivened through a contest which received good coverage in the Tulsa Tribune. Readers were invited to compete in an ancient car contest and also for the best-decorated jalopy or hot rod. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was the angle chosen for his ballyhoo on RKO's "Mighty Joe Young" by I.M.P.S. Member Leonard Utecht of the Essaness Lake Theatre in Oak Park, 111. The manager used a 6 ft. 4 in. usher as the gorilla, local model as the frill, had them driven all over Chicago's west suburbia and used them on his stage. Homo sapiens on the right is Utecht. His assistant, Frank Pandolfi, is at the wheel. Merchants, 4-H Help Karp Sell 'Promise' (Continued from Page 11) house in all surrounding towns to those who were not regular subscribers. Both newspapers printed 800 copies above their usual circulation. Incidentally, both newspapers also gave liberal space to the special screening and the activities in tribute to the 4-H Clubs. Naturally the picture, theatre and playdate were always mentioned. All who took part in the campaign were pleased with its results, not only from a commercial standpoint but for what it did for the ' members of the various 4-H Clubs located throughout the country. 4-H, 4 Page, 4 Bell 'Green Promise' Tie The management of the Butler Theatre in Butler, Mo., promoted an unusual amount of cooperation for its recent engagement of RKO's "The Green Promise." Four full pages — two spreads — of ads built around theatre copy and playing up the 4-H Club angle were taken in the Bates County Democrat in a tie-in that involved not only retail establishments but also such organizations as a leading dairy where individual employes took part in sponsoring the film. GRIST for the SHOWMANSHIP MILL To create word-of-mouth comment, Paramount is sneak-previewing "My Friend Irma" in all key cities about 10 days prior to regular openings of the film. A similar policy was tried on "Miss Tatlock's Millions," and it paid off. * * * In a concentrated drive for Halloween business. Monogram has made available new prints and advertising accessories on 34 spook and mystery dramas previously released by the company. Included among the films qualifying for the occasion are "Suspense," "Fear," "Unknown Guest," "Spook Busters," "Face of Marble," "Isle of Missing Men," "The Living Ghost," "Revenge of the Zombies" and "Murder by Invitation." Boost ^Quartet^ Backbone of the Boston promotion for "Quartet" at the Majestic Theatre was the popularity of the novels and short stories of W. Somerset Maugham upon four of whose short stories the film is based. Boston's main public library and all its branches as well as most of its book stores were receptive to campaign participation. Stillboards and credit cards and 10,000 credit-carrying bookmarks were distributed through the library and its numerous branches. All book stores and book sections of the department stores carrying the Pocket Books edition of "Quartet" were bannered and supplied with displays of stills. Theatre management also promoted 25 trucks which were bannered with 24-sheets. Cooperative tieups were made with all stores in the populous parts of the city. Highlight among these was a full window in Jordan Marsh Company which featured a "quartet" of men's toilet articles along with stillboards which carried stills from each of the four stories in the film. A special screening, followed by a cocktail party, was held for all Boston newspaper critics. Newspaper society editors were invited to attend the formal opening and to bring their guests. UNICEF Film Shown To U.N, Delegates "For All the World's Children," a three-reel film made by Warner Pathe News to show the work of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, was screened for United Nations delegates at U. N. headquarters, at Lake Success, Wednesday afternoon. The subject shows all phases of UNICEF operation, from the shipment of supplies in the United States, Australia and Canada, to distribution of the food to Europe and the Middle East. Far Eastern coverage includes sequences depicting malaria control and anti-tuberculosis vaccination in India, child-feeding in China and the Philippines, and particularly moving scenes made in Canton and in a Philippine leper camp. The film represents the work of 10 Warner Pathe camera crews. Distribution of the subject is being handled by the United Nations. IF there's a Dictaphone distributor in your community, then you can duplicate the stunt used by Manager Babe Cohn of the Paramount Theatre, Kansas City, for Paramount's "Top O' the Morning." Through the lobby display shown above, patrons were asked to dictate a letter to a serviceman in a hospital. The message was then transcribed and sent to the serviceman. The tieup was very successful and acted as a direct mailing piece.