Exhibitor's Trade Review (Dec 1923 - Feb 1924)

January 5, 1924 Page 33 Gets Aid of Post Office Frank Edwards of the Winter Garden got the entire Seattle Post Office stafif of 300 employees back of him for "Loyal Lives." Eighty mail wagons were placarded with one-sheets well in advance of the showings. 50,000 heralds were delivered by the letter carriers. In spite of heavy competition and bad weather, they lined 'em up all day long on opening day. Shows were run from 9 :00 A. M. to midnight, to capacity business. Guessing the Guilty One Manager Robert W. Bender, of the Columbia Theatre, Seattle, invited all the prosecuting attorneys and county officials, as well as fifteen law students from the University of Washington, to a special preview of "The Acquittal." Before the screening he passed around printed ballots headed "Judging from the plot of 'The Acquittal' I believe the guilty one is " The seven possible names were listed below, with a square marked for checking. At the bottom of the slip was a line for the name, one for the signer's official title (as, Lieut, of Police), and finally a line headed: "This reminds me of the famous case." The picture was screened to the point where Robert Armstrong draws the picture of the blind Justice. Then a slide was run, calling for the votes to be marked and passed in and the screening finished. Four out of 137 guessed correctly who the murderer was. Winking Owls in Lobby Roland & Clark's State Theatre in Pittsburgh gave Goldwyn's "Three Wise Fools," an unusually attractive lobby display. The main features of this display were cut-outs of three large owls sitting on the branch of a tree, above the entrance to the lobby. The eyes of these cut-out owls were transparent and illuminated from behind with a flasher which gave the effect of winking. The display space above the entrance into the theatre was divided into three panels, the owls occupying the right hand panel. In the center panel was a picture of a flapper showing a generous length of stocking and the left hand panel contained pictures of three elderly men, to represent the "three wise fools." 'Radio-Mania' Is Divorce Charge "Radio-Mania," the Hodkinson release dealing with the latest scientific invention, has been named in a divorce action. The New York World of December 2nd, under the headline of "Radio Mania Basis of Divorce Action," tells of a Minneapolis man who was even a more incorrigible radio-maniac than the one portrayed by Grant Mitchell in the picture— which is goin* some. 'Found $50. Apply Within!' George Schade of the Sandusky playhouse bearing his name gave away fifty dollars when he showed First National's "Potash and Perlmutter." There is a story to the manner in which he advertised the fact and still was able to keep his copy in the newspaper. A letter would have meant immediate banishment from the mail, so Schade used a two inch column ad daily reading : "Found $50. Inquire Schade Theatre." Schade's report is that hundreds of people applied at the theatre for the mythical money. It built up attendance for the night when the money was to be given away, and to all practical purposes, fulfilled legal requirements. He had found •! EXPLOITATION IDEAS IN BRIEF $50, found it in his own jeans and the curiosity of the crowds gave him the chance to exploit his show in a new manner. School Head Praises 'Penrod' First National's "Penrod and Sam" got off to a flying start at the Liberty Theatre, Butte, Mont., largely through the influential aid of W. D. Sweetland, superintendent of schools, who urged attendance on the part of all school teachers and pupils. The part of his circular that is worth perpetuating reads : "It is estimated that fifty million people attend some performance of a motion picture every week in the year. This number is staggering enough to suggest that we, as teachers, ought to use our influence in getting children to select only those things in the movie world that seem worth while." French Dancer Exploits Film Mile. Francine Reed, well known imitator of mechanical figures, lent her art to the exploitation of Metro's latest Mae Murray feature, "The French Doll," last week and helped to put over the picture which was playing at George Schade's theatre in Sandusky, Ohio. In the large show window of the Scheuer-Frankel Company, Mile. Reed appeared several time daily and never failed to draw a large crowd. The impersonator displayed many of the striking costumes worn by Miss Murray in "The French Doll." The demonstration was also given in the readyto-wear department. Manager Schade, in cooperation with C. C. Deardourff, Metro's exploitation man, also obtained tie-ups with several prominent lingerie shops where photographs of Miss Murray were tastefully displayed together with stills from "The French Doll." Sport Goods Dealer Helps 'Dulcy' Being fortunate enough to sell a local dealer in hardware and sporting goods the idea of a tie-up on First National's "Dulcy," Manager Charles Morrison of the Imperial Theatre, Jacksonville, Fla., arranged a window display which centered around this title card "Only a Dulcy (dumb-bell) would neglect his physical fitness and sing into the long line of unhealthy office slaves." In another corner of the window a card suggested: "A small outlay of money for a set of dumb-bells will fit you with the essentials for perfect health and consequent happiness. Exercise befero going to bed and after arising." In addition there were stills from the picture, completing the tie-up with the picture and theatre. Spelling Stunt Works Again Because he took dust to be synonymous with land, George Schade of the Sandusky Theatre bearing his name used the real estate classified columns of the Sandusky Register to exploit First National's "Children of Dust." The mis-spelled word idea was capitalized to the extent of seven passes issued to the smart eyed spellers who scented the boners. The announcement of the stunt was carried for three successive days on the front page of the Register and Schade declares this angle got him more advertising than all the space he bought. Prize Drawing Contest Pulls A Mae Murray drawing contest was h.eld in Cincinnati to exploit "The French Deli." Prizes of $25 for the best costume 'lesign, $15 for the second best, and $10 for the third best were offered. Nearly 1000 movie ' fans, artists and clever dressmakers took j;art. Fifty of the best designs, including the three prize winners, were placed on display in the lobby of the Walnut Theatre. Dangling Legs in Display A small theatre front should be no drawback to creating striking displays. The Savoy Theatre, Philadelphia, operated by the Stanley Company of America, is almost lost in the maze of business buildings which surround it, but when they have an attraction that warrants it they make a display that attracts. When First National's "Tnlby" was presented at the Savoy, cut-outs of beautiful feminine legs were hung from the canopy which entends over the pavement and in such a manner as to make them in motion at all times, the wind fanning them doing the trick. Rogers' Column to Aid Film Arrangements have been effected with the syndicate handling Will Rogers' newspaper column, "Slipping the Lariat Over," which is expected to prove of immense value in publicizing the comedian's two-reel series of laugh-provokers for distribution by Pathe. "Slipping the Lariat Over" is a weekly column of humorous quibs and witty allusions to persons and events in the public limelight, contributed by the screen comedian and written in his quaint, inimitable style. The column has a nationwide body of readers, being syndicated in over fifty leading newspapers throughout the country. Truck Ballyhoo Effective A huge beaver-board ball, painted to represent the world and carrying on each side the legend: "The whole world will laugh at Buster Keaton's new photoplay 'Three Ages' " was mounted on an automobile truck and ballyhooed up and down the streets of York, Pa., for the Jackson Theatre where Keaton's first feature length Metro comedy played recently. "Three Ages" went over to a tremendous business. Mail Men Do Publicity That the mail workers of the West coast are completely "sold" on Emory Johnson's big postal drama, "The Mailman" was amp.'y proven by the energetic co-operation given the West Coast Theatres by /'he mail men of Hollywood when "The Maiiman" opened its engagement at the new Hollywood Theatre recently. For perhaps the first time on record, letter carriers distributed f rom house to house cards which advertised tlie production and at the same time carried a line asking the citizens to do what they could to advance the cause of the mail workers. 'Yes, We Have Ponjolas' "Ponjola" was the name of a drink. Consciously or otherwise a soda store in Jacksonville, Fla., used the same idea, crowned it with the popular adaptation, "Yes, we have some Ponjolas" and then used it as an exploitation tie-up for the First National attraction at the Imperial Theatre. The special connection was advertised at three soda fountains a week before the opening. Straight exploitation methods marked the campaign given the picture. Three days before the opening the cashier called up ladies listed in the telephone book and outlined the fact that the picture dealt with a heroine who cut her hair and passed as a man. She asked prospective customers to see the picture for themselves and decide -whether the impersonation was plausible. HetiEotiWan ^ut ^sunber Heti^otiWan