The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

18 Highlights in Selling Features^ "Pygmalion” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The campaign for Metro’s importation, Pyg~ malion,” conducted by Everett Callow, in charge of StanleyWarner theatres’ publicity department; manager Stanley Benford, Boyd; James Ashcraft, Metro exploiter, for the engagement of the first picturization of a George Bernard Shaw play, at the Boyd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, may best be evaluated by a perusal of the following summary of activities. Advance screenings, totaling seven, were held for motion picture groups, school officials, etc. Motion Picture Forum sent out 300 special night letters. Mailing lists of legitimate theatres were used, with some 10,000 names being advised. Motion Picture Forum was addressed by Temple University’s professor of English, literature. Besides more than doubling advertising space in the dailies, space was taken in college weeklies. High school students were admitted, before six o'clock, for a special 25-cent. admission. Fifty thousand bookmarks, educational posters were distributed through the library, its 39 branches. Ten thousand blotters were distributed in office A tie-up with a bakery made an outlet for 100.000 heralds, window streamers in 9,000 stores. Streamers were placed also in some 300 beauty shops. A man-in-the-street broadcast was effected. A fullpage pictorial lay-out was given by the Public Ledger.” Trailers, an advance lobby display were used to advantage. "Devil’s Island” New Brunswick, New Jersey By tying in with the Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Drive, the Opera House recently succeeded in garnering a wealth of free newspaptr publicity and ads for "Devil’s Island. During the entire week of the engagement, editorials, ads, stories appeared in the papers urging New Brunswickers to attend the showing of the film and demonstrate their support for the Chamber of Commerce. Statements were published from numerous local officials urging the townspeople to support the drive. "Submarine Patrol” Batavia, New York Ralph Booth, city manager, had "Submarine Patrol” for "National Defense Week.” All advance advertising contained special mention of the week referring to necessity for adequate preparation for national defense. Lafayette house manager, Cliff Schaufele, executed effective campaign, securing several readers on events leading to making pictures, etc., scene mats gratis and also special advertising in several local papers of clubs, high schools, etc. Four art panels on inside of lobby doors with art cards were used, also pictures, stories on feature were fastened to outside lobby doors. House used ballyhoo man dressed in regulation sailor’s uniform with flashy colored sandwich board. Marquee of Lafayette was decorated with brightly colored pennants and flags and an at tractive 40x60 with colored stills and decorated with American flags and colors was placed in empty store window. Manager secured permission from Major Joseph Polowe to reproduce an enthusiastic letter written to himself in Daily News recommending the picture. "The Dawn Patrol” Flushing, New York As one of the highlights of the campaign on "The Dawn Patrol,” conducted by the Inwood, in the Forest Hills section, was a contest for amateur model airplane builders, with many of the entries exhibited in the theatre’s lobby. Winners were given courtesy passes. According to the management, the "indirect publicity given picture, ’Dawn Patrol,’ was terrific.” Also on display was a six-sheet, two three-sheets, mounted on composition board, "with attached flickering (colored) bulbs giving the plane crashing effect by the on and off switching of the lamps.” Highlights in Selling Shorts "Ferdinand the Bull” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania For a pedestrian-stopping flash on "Ferdinand the Bull” manager C. L. ("Bill”) Yearsley, Circle, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, besides the traditional 40x60 easel display, also placed outside the theatre a cut-out of the bovine and a bale of hay ("If you don’t believe this is real hay, taste it!”), on top of which was placed a pot of flowers on a pillow. Captions on the various articles tied in with the picture. "Surprisingly,” says manager Yearsley, "the bale of hay was picked slick by tasters. The usher reported that many youngsters had apparently never seen a bale of hay.” Other items on the agenda included a special trailer; the two-page spread from Life; usher in bullfighters costume; mention in all newspaper advertisements; 75 three-sheets. "Flying G-Men’ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania For three weeks prior to opening, manager Al Cohen, Nixon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, assiduously plugged Columbia’s serial, "Flying G-Men.” Highlights of his campaign follow: The third week prior to opening a teaser, “Flying G-Men Are Coming,” was run. The second week before opening, the teaser read, “Flying G-Men Are Nearing Their Goal.” The week before opening, the trailer led off with “Flying G-Men Are Here,” followed by the usual commercial trailer on the subject. Cohen distributed 8,000 heralds, emphasizing the serial, not the feature, to West Philadelphia grammar schools. A man dressed as the Black Falcon visited various schools at various times during the school day, distributed heralds. A lobby display was used for two weeks in advance of opening. Two thousand G-Man rings were given to the first 2,000 children on the opening day. A story was planted in the West Philadelphia “Times.” According to manager Cohen, the campaign gave the Nixon "the best Saturday Kiddies’ Matinee this theatre ever enjoyed.” Highlights in Magazine Tie-Ups "Huckleberry Finn” Amplifying the magazine advertising inaugurated last month with "The Lion’s Roar” column, Metro last week started a comprehensive campaign on "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” with full-page advertisements in 2 5 national publications. With the prominent support the new Mickey Rooney picture has received in "The Lion’s Roar,” it is estimated that the combined advertising will reach a circulation of over 100,000,000. Among the 2 5 magazines carrying the full-page advertisements are Collier’s, Liberty, Saturday Evening Post, Life, Popular Mechanics, American Newsreel, Redbook, Time, Look, Good Housekeeping, American Boy, Boys’ Life, Parents. “The Lion’s Roar” is appearing in a number of monthly, weekly periodicals, as well as in fan magazines. Advertisements of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” were timed to hit the newsstands concurrent with the picture’s national release February 10. A similar extensive campaign will be conducted in newspapers throughout the country with the film’s important key-city engagements. Highlights in National Tieups "Yes, My Darling Daughter” Warners arranged four important national tieups with manufacturers on "Yes, My Darling Daughter.” One is with the Auto-Lite Spark Plug Corporation, currently running ads in the March issues of national magazines. Included in the promotion is a four-page, newspaper size, special giveaway featuring Priscilla Lane and allowing space for printing theatre name and playdate. Colorful window and lobby displays are available for stores and theatres, and 50,000 dealer are being contacted for tieups on the local showing of the picture. A promotion in conjunction with Buick cars is also being used in exploiting the picture, consisting of full-page ads in a number of regional magazines. Photographs of Priscilla Lane and Jeffrey Lynn are used in the ad which gives the film a large picture credit. Artplus Hosiery is taking a full-page ad in "Glamour” magazine and distributing newspaper mats and window cards to stores. Company also distributed a special trailer for use in theatres on local tieups. Hartmann Luggage is sending out photographs of Roland Young, who is featured in the film, for use in window displays. Large picture credit will be given the film, in addition to theatre copy in local engagements. "You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man” "As Maine goes, so goes the nation” has long been a political maxim (of somewhat dubious merit, of course), but it remained for Universal to test out the adage in reference to motion pictures. Accordingly, to the Pine Tree State recently trekked special representative B. Bernard Kreisler to familiarize exhibitors, motion picture editors with the W. C. Fields picture, "You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man.” As a result of the ballyhoo, Kreisler reports the state took the cinema "hook, line, and sinker. The mirth-provoking trio — Fields, Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy — has them in the aisles, characteristic of ’mainiacs’ from California to Maine.” A picture, taken in Hollywood, of Fields "giving pointers” to Composer Ann ("Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?”) Ronell, with Kreisler lending an attentive ear, was used by the Boston Traveler, Herald, as well as other New England papers. March 1, 19}9