20th Century-Fox Dynamo (July 8, 1939)

£ STUDIO SPECIAL “SECOND FIDDLE” PROVES B.O. DYNAMITER FROM THE OUTSET! ■- 4 * . » — * ’• * r Biggest Smash-Hit At Roxy Since First Berlin K-6 Musical — Sensational Audience Reaction — Long Run Positive—Talk of Trade — Critics Rave! NEW YORK—Irving Berlin's "Second Fiddle", after a sensational SRO start over the last week, plunged into a stanza that is giving every promise of effecting for the Roxy theatre, where it is getting its world premiere showing, the highest gross any metropolitan house has enjoyed since . Alexander s Ragtime Band". And the reaction to this latest Zanuck musical smash-hit is such that Broadway believes "Second Fiddle" may, when its run is over, have rung up a total gross paralleling that earned by "Alexander's Ragtime Band". One thing is definitely certain: “Second Fiddle” is doing by far the biggest box office business any attraction has done on Broadway since Jesse James jammed the Roxy last January. What is more, the first week-end of “Second Fiddle” attracted so many ticket-buyers that the sale of ducats had to be stopped on no less than nine occasions between Friday afternoon and Sunday night! ‘Second Fiddle” is unquestionably the biggest musical hit to strike Broadway since Berlin’s “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. It is the talk of the towm Coming into the Roxy at the heels of a great, nation-wide radio broadcast to which millions listened, this Sonja Henie-Tyrone Power produc- tion caught on from the very beginning—and the first performance was a sellout. In fact, the turnout of customers, the excellent newspaper notices and the word of mouth praise have forced the Roxy management to open the theatre s doors one hour earlier than usual. Business continued on an SRO basis after the week-end. No picture, not excluding “Alexander’s Rag- time Band , has drawn them into the Roxy during the afternoons this season as this one is magnetizing the customers. Berlin himself lined up every important orchestra and singer within 200 miles of New York to participate in the exploitation campaign. His music publishing firm put on extra men to personally contact the orchestra leaders and radio stars, with the result that no picture this company has released this season has obtained the advance plug from bands and radio that “Second Fiddle” can boast. The incomparable Berlin turned loose the entire music publishing corporation of which he is the head in musically paving the way for “Second Fiddle . He personally contacted every orchestra leader in the United States, the first time that he has done that on any picture for which he has furnished the music. This week the air waves were heavy with instrumental and vocal renditions of tunes frorjg “Second Fiddle”. Dance halls, restaurants, night clubs and the resorts were covered by a crew of 11 experts from the Irving Berlin Music Company, working directly under Sol Bornstein. Meantime, this company's own advertising department, under C. E. McCarthy, banged‘away on a newspaper display campaign and on the now historic “Magic Eye” coast-to-coast broadcast which featured Berlin music, Darryl Zanuck, Berlin himself, Sonja Henie from Oslo, Tyrone Power and Mary Healy from Hollywood, Rudy Vallee from New York, and two foreign “swing” orchestras, one from London and the other from Buenos Aires. That broadcast, which compared with the airing of the press preview of “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, was followed with a deluge of request from bookings. Exhibitors wired branches and Home Offices for the earliest possible dates. The negative of “Second Fiddle” arrived here early last week and the job of turning out prints was tackled immediately. Prints began to go forward to branches last week-end, but the only other pre- release engagement authorized by General Manager of Distribution Herman Wobber will take place in New Orleans on next Wednesday. The New Orleans pre-release engagement is of particular significance. In “Second Fiddle” Mary Healy, formerly secretary to New Orleans Branch Manager Ernest V. Landaiche, makes her screen debut. Hers is a great personal triumph in this production. She and Rudy Vallee introduce the Berlin song hits. Metropolitan newspaper critics predict a brilliant future for her—and, according to three columnists, she can “write her own ticket on Broad- way . But, Mr. Zanuck has important plans for this young lady with a voice and a style of delivery that is the toast of Broadway. Miss Healy leaves Hollywood for New Orleans this week-end. She will arrive in New Orleans on Monday. There she will be given a royal re- ception, with the mayor of New Orleans, the governor of Louisiana, theatre men and notables present to welcome a home-town girl who has made good in Hollywood. A week of luncheons, receptions and whatnot await her in New Orleans. (Continued on Page 4) DI6GEST FOURTH OF JULY BUSINESS IN HISTORY OF ROXY IN NEW YORK IS ATTRACTED BY BERLIN’S “SECOND FIDDLE” By MARTIN MOSKOWITZ By Western Union Telegraph to New Dynamo NEW YORK—Irving Berlin’s “Second Fiddle” gave the Roxy theatre here its biggest Fourth of July gross. Following up what was the biggest week-end, this theatre has enjoyed since “Jesse James” last January, the holiday brought out a crowd that taxed the capacity of the Roxy at every performance. Several times the box offices had to stop selling. The week-end business was positively sensational. While there was an exodus of thousands from the city, many, many more thous- ands poured into New York from out of town for the week-end and Fourth of July holiday. Every house had the strongest attraction in many weeks. Jack Benny’s “Man About Town”, “Bachelor Mother'’ and Eddie Cantor in person were three of the attractions put in op- position to “Second Fiddle”. The World's Fair had the biggest week- end and holiday. But “Second Fiddle” astounded showmen with its pulling power. It opened on Friday to $5,005. Saturday it piled up $7,518. Sunday brought $7,778. On Monday the gross was more than $1500 greater than that of the opening day. Newspapers raved. Audience reaction at every show is tremendous, according to Irving Lesser, managing di- rector. Monday the box offices closed down for 40 minutes because crowds that were so great police had to be called. At noon Tuesday the box office had to close and did not open again until two o’clock. Tyrone Power and Annabella personally visited the theatre while in New York, before sailing on the SS. Rex for their European vacation. * , m ' This (Wednesday) afternoon crowds again were on hand and in- dications were that this day’s receipts would be as big, if not bigger, than those of Monday.