Universal Weekly (1924-1936)

October 23, 1926 Universal Weekly 23 "Midnight Sun" Yellow Proving Popular Tie-Up FOR some reason the Park Theatre in Youngstown, Ohio, has not been drawing women to the matinees. A. J. Sharick, coming from the Universal Cleveland office to work on "The Midnight Sun," decided that this was not as it should be and immediately went to see the Youngstown Vindicator. There he arranged to have a special bargain coupon for woman printed in the paper and landed six big publicity stories on it as well. This coupon with 25 cents admitted a woman to the matinee. The "Midnight Sun" color, a flaming orange, appears to be following in the footsteps of the famous "Phantom Red" as tie-up material. The B. McManus store in Youngstown devoted one of their windows to dresses in the new shade and mentioned it in their ads. The Vindicator used it as a basis for a special style story. In the window was a large cut-out of Laura La Plante and several portraits of her as well. A hand-painted cai"d tied up the window with the Park engagement by stating that "Midnight Sun" was "the new color introduced in the play by the same name at the Park Theatre, beginning Sunday." The photograph below shows this display. A cooperative page was also put over in the Vindicator, and two drug stores and the Woolworth store came through with window tie-ups. Ending up their exploitation with 2000 of "The Midnight Sun" tabloid newspapers, the Park packed them in throughout the entire week. Manager George H. Gratias, Starland Theatre, Winnipeg, Canada, made a clever novelty for his front when he played "Poker Faces" from a tennis net and several packs of playing cards. A "hundred aces" were also used as shades for the comer lights of the ma/rqiiee. Note that he plays up "Painless Pain," a 2-reel Stem Brothers comedy, in one of his 3-sheet frames. Appeals to French-Canadians During Showing of "The Trap'' MAKING an especial bid for French-Canadian patronage during the week he showed Lon Chaney in "The Trap" which is laid in the Canadian timber land, C. A. Chaufelle, general director of the New Lyceum Theatre, Winnipeg, Man., "Midnight Sun" yellow is proving as big a tie-up as "Phantom Red" was last year. This window of dresses of the new shade was used by the B. McManus store in Youngstown, Ohio, where the gorgeous Universal production played the Park Theatre, The window drew a special write-up in the Vindicator. Canada, announced a "French-Canadian Week" and sent out a letter written in French, to all FrenchCanadians in the city. His opening paragraph was calculated to arouse the national pride of his readers. He begins: "Have you ever been in the black woods where men are men and beasts are beasts, the places Mother Earth has bestowed with her beauty; where our forefathers have toiled and French-Canadian spirit is still prevailing. Have you ever been there? If you have, your heart will be longing to see the wonderful scenery again, and to meet again the type of French-Canadians we have to thank so much. If you have not been in the black woods where the spirit of our forefathers still haunts, you would like to see it all if you only had the opportunity." From there Mr. Chaufelle goes on to tell something of the story and then states that many leading FrenchCanadians have sigrnified their intention of seeing "The Trap." The letter is rather long — perhaps too long for American theatre-goers — but it is written in a most entertaining fashion and brought many new patrons to the New Lyceum. Appeals, such as this, to groups which will be especially interested in a picture always bring new patrons to a house.