Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

14 ^Battleground^ to Have 3 Premieres Three consecutive premieres, starting Nov. 9, will launch MGM's national campaign on "Battleground." On that date the picture will have gala invitational showings at Loew'.? Capitol, Washington, D. C, attended by military brass, cabinet members and congressional representatives. Guests of honor will be Producer Dore Schary, Director William A. Wellman. stars of the film and General A. C. McAulif¥e, ;vhose exploits at Bastogne are depicted in the picture. The next evening, Nov. 10, the film will be premiered on Broadway at the Astor Theatre, with the regular public opening to follow the next day. Industry leaders, MGM and Loew's executives, Schary, Wellman and some Df the cast will be in attendance. "Battleground" will then be screened on Armistice Day at Fort Bragg, in Fayetteville, N. C, for the 82nd Airborne Division, home base of the 101st Airborne engaged in the Battle of Bastogne, background of the film. Plans are now being worked out by home office and studio executives for later openings in Los Angeles and other key cities. Meanwhile, it was learned, MGM is assured of the Army's complete cooperation. Major General F. L. Parks, chief of the Army's Public Information Division, has issued a directive to all P. I. offices to extend MGM representatives full cooperation in exploiting the picture. Equipment and material will be made available for display in whatever locations are decided upon. The complete file of photographs taken by combat photographers at the Battle of Bastogne will also be made available to MGM. First on New Sound Having installed a new sound system into the Glove at Gloversville, N. Y., Assistant Manager Paul Richrath let patrons know that the musical, "Look for the Silver Lining," was the first film to be screened over the new system. FINE WINDOW display for MGM's "The Barkleys of Broadway" was promoted for the showing of the film at the Empire, Leicester Square, in London. Tieup was on MGM Records. The Ice Man Cometh Less Now in Maysyille Maysville, Ky., is having its first refrigerator giveaway in years, a project set up by Ben Tureman of the Russell Theatre and Schine Group Manager Bud Sommers. The nine-cubicfoot, $310 prize is being spotlighted in the lobby for a month, and its dealer is so enthusiastic that he is buying radio time and overprinting his statements and envelopes to plug the stunt. Call the Marines! The local .Marines tied up with the Olympic (at Watertown, N. Y., when it showed "Guadalcanal Diary" and "Purple Heart" revivals, with a couple of A-boards proclaiming the Marines' pride in the films, a window featuring different uniforms, and plugs on their radio program and at a reserve meeting. Irv Neuwirth credits his assistant, Ken Hartz. SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 22, 1949 Capital Boys Go French on ^DeviK Saul Menick and Sam Keller of the National Theatre, capitalized on everything French in their campaign dor the Washington, D. C, premiere of the French picture "Devil in the Flesh." Starting two weeks before the opening a new 1949 French Renault sedan and an old 1929 model of the same car were driven around the business district displaying large placards announcing the film's playdate. Use French Poodles Something new in exploitation ideas was used when French poodles were employed, through the use of want ads in the local newspapers, to walk around the downtown streets with large tags (advertising the picture and playdate, of course) on their necks, accompanied by 'beautiful models. A colored slide of the poodles was projected in the window of Eastman Kodak Co.'s main store. French copies of the book by Radiquet were presented to the language professors at the local colleges following a screening of the film. Screenings were also held for drama critics, members of the press, radio and television, and they too received copies of the book. Brentano's book stores each devoted a window to the film, using copies of the book and large blowups supplied by the theatre. Iwentyfive thousand bookmarks and heralds were printed and distributed through the ibook stores, bowling alleys, public libraries, inside and outside the theatre, etc. TWA Airlines devoted their choice window in downtown Washington to "Devil in the Flesh" by displaying a group of hand-colored photos on the .film, from Paris ; a can of film ; picture of a French Renault sedan arriving from Paris via Transworld Airlines ; a large TWA Constellation plane and copies of Cue, Eye and Life magazines, which contained reviews and picture layouts on the film. Cavalcade of Stars At 'Heiress' Premiere From William Boyd and Elinor Fair, who starred in "The Volga Boatman" in 1926, to Olivia deHavilland, Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson, stars of "The Heiress," a cavalcade of the screen's most glamorous names were expected to tread the scarlet carpet from curb to lobby at the Carthay Circle Theatre Thursday night (20) for the Hollywood premiere of Paramount's "The Heiress." Stars of pictures that have premiered at the Carthay through the years were invited to the opening, and grandstand seats were set up in the forecourt to accommodate the crowd of fans turning out to welcome their favorites. 'Massacre River' Campaign Marks DriveIn Birthday Heavy exploitation campaign on "Massacre River" marked the first anniversary week of the IBellevue Theatre in Peoria, largest drive-in situation in southern Illinois, and the inauguration of a 100 per cent first-run policy. House ran full-page ads in local newspapers and offered free admission to patrons presenting Indian Head penny, with induction into the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma to those with coins dated 1870 to 1875. Teaser ads in the same issue were used to call attention to the full-pagers. Goodwill Envoy W Youth, Churchmen Letter prefect in a subject lie has discussed before more than 90 different groups in 14 cities of the country, Henry Wilcoxon, Paramount-DeMille Ambassador to the Court of Public Relations, on Monday in New York gave a combined demonstration and report to trade press representatives of the activity which is winning new friends and influencing former customers to come back to the movies, according to estimates of theatremen in several areas. Wilcoxon, who plays one of the principal roles of DeMille's "Samson and Delilah," appears ideally equipped to carry the message to influential groups that the motion picture industry is ia a position to make valuable contribution to sources of education and culture with the material ("by-products," Wilcoxon calls them) gathered in the research which goes into the making of films for the entertainment of the masses. The Wilcoxon address is supplemented by the showing of slides — frames from "'Samson and Delilah" — and exhibits of stills and sketches. So far — he has covered 14 of the 41-city itinerary set by Paramount — .Wilcoxon has met with enthusiastic response from the groups of educators and leaders in cultural and civic activities, he told the press. His subject is motion pictures more than the particular motion picture whose "by-products" ilcoxon Reports; at ^Samson^ Meet he is offering as a gesture of goodwill from Paramount and DeMille to the educational institutions, libraries and cultural groups for whatever purpose they may find for them as sources of research on Biblical characters and events gathered during the 14 years of preparatory study which went into the making of "Samson and Delilah." Representatives of more than a million young men and women and more than 400 leaders of public opinion in Protestant churches and affiliated religious organizations attended meetings last Friday (14) to discuss "Samson and Delilah." The first meeting, held on the Hotel Pierre Roof, was attended by the heads of 34 national youth organizations, including the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, YWHA, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, Boys' Club, Boys' Brotherhood Republic, Young People's League and Child Welfare League. Henry Wilcoxon discussed the 14 years of research that preceded production and explained how the material assembled during this research would be made available to youth organizations. That afternoon, at a meeting of Protestant church leaders, Wilcoxon's discussion included proposals for specific programs and materials for service to church and religious groups.