The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

26 BETTER MANAGEMENT WASHINGTON Newark, mew jeRse^ NOW ProctoRS with CHARLtS a sss? B\CKfORD P«s,°No n»n . . ©R€* \ niM<* A REAL LOVE STORY... MARVELOUS CAST.. .LAUGHS . . . RHYTHMS! ^TEMPLE JUST AROUND THE CORNER CHARLES FARRELL -JOAN DAVIS .BILL ROBINSON* BERT LAHR FRANKLIN PANGBORN CORA WITHERSPOON EXTRA ATTRACTION WALT DISNEY t wmm hi TECHNICOLOR SAT. NITE • SPECIAL! nmDNITE SHOW SUN. HUE RHOG HFT TICKET BOO IKS NOW ON SALE! COURTING DANGER Ld|SASTER..|J ^%DAMES!4H ASTOR STARTS TODAY fibAvlM (r, PEWBYlVAMM • TOM BROWN • NAN GREY • ANDY DEVINE • Je^sE'i c ny, MeiM ww HAfiKlSfluRF, ?^A)N5 %VAV/A THIS PICTURE IS DYNAMITE! Charles BICKFOjTLJ Tom BROWN/ Preston FOSTER Barton MacLANE i &*)/ DUtijj ' ! LAST ) RICHARD CROMWELL I THE 3 MESQUITEERS ^ftfLAST D AY! "Come on, leathernecks!" | "RIDERS OF THE BLACK HILLS" 1 DAY! Joe kia i Noney Carroll • Jokn Hollidoy JocSio Searl • Juanita Quigley A Triple Threat Dis?;ter . . . with Danger, Thrills. Dan wm Of such a cast as that composed of Charles Bickford, Barton MacLane, Preston Foster, Tom Brown, Andy Devine, Frank Jenks, Samuel S. Hinds, little might be thought as being present to draw the women. On the opposite page we see how RKOKeith’s, Washington (upper left) ; RKO-Proctur’s, Newark, New Jersey (lower left); Senate, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (upper right); Astor, Read ng, Pennsylvania (center right); and Lincoln, Jersey City, New Jersey (lower right), took the Universal production, advertised it on the opening day. While RKO-Kcith’s emphasizes the he-man angle, the action, there is represented in the gag line — "to reach again the arms of the women they love”— a touch of the womanangle to attract the feminine trade. Noted also in this lay-out is the effective use of pressbook elements, selected by the particular theatre for the best display for its especial use. The Senate further emphasized the masculinity of the picture, by overlining its layout with "It’s Dynamite.” The ad proper is a scene still overlaid with the reading matter. While the alliterative "Danger, Disaster, Dames” line is without a doubt quite correct for the picture, there is a question whether the line "The greatest of all stories of men and women and the sea” can overcome the brashness of the "dames.” That also might be remarked in connection w th the lay-out of the Astor. In a V-shaped formation, the heads of the principal players are flanked by art work suggesting the "courting danger, dsaster” angles, the "courting dames” phase of the picture. As was noted in the previous article in this series, the double bill offers lay-out men espec:al headaches. DEANNA and her FIRST CRUSH . . . He", Tall, Dark and Handsome! HINTS ON NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING No. 3 — Hotv Eastern Theatres’ Lay-Outs Set Forth Universal’s "The Storm” An action-packed melodrama offers the exhib tor many angles for exploitation and advert sing, but the more "he-man” the drama is, the less chance to play up that very important phase of woman-interest. It is axiomatic in the exhibition field that the masculine side of the first-run and near first-run aud ences do not make for profits, rather is it the patronage of the women — and the men they br ng — that means profit or not at the box office. In the lay-out of the RKO-Proctor’s, we find "The Storm” taking top billing, although in prominence in the lay-out, it would seem to be an even money bet that "Just Around the Corner” and "Ferdinand the Bull” would attract equal attention. How "The Storm” is advertised as the lower half of a double bill is represented by the lay-out of the Lincoln, which leaves for the most part the appeal of the picture suggested not only by the title but by the three principal players. In these five lay-outs, we have typical examples of handling the problem. In each case the problem is met best to draw the patronage of the particular theatre and to use those ad-lines and art as best to serve the purpose. How well these advertisements served their purpose can be told only by an examination of box-office records. January 4, 19)9