Exhibitor's Trade Review (Mar-May 1922)

April 15, 1922 EXHIBITORS TRADE REVIEW 1419 Unique Prologue Taking his cue from no less a person than William Shakespeare, Manager Johnson of the Luna Theatre, Lafayette, Ind., put over a unique prologue when he played First National's The Song of Life. The stage was arranged so that two dark curtains hid the screen from the audience. From between the portals there emerged a young woman garbed in spotless white robes, carrying a pair of scales. One side of the scales bore a pair of beautifully dressed dolls in dancing posture. The other side showed an overbalancing set of small dishes, embodying the theme of the picture in the contrast between luxury and drudgery. Following the custom of Shakespearean plays, the character, in the stage name of "Chorus," spoke to the audience, saying: "To some wives life is just a 'drama of dishes.' They grow old, bent and gray by eternal washing. Their salon is the kitchen, their perpetual pursuit the dishpan. While favored and gifted butterflies flitter through life feasting upon ambrosia and dancing to the accompaniment of the Pipes of Pan, these drudging moths with clipped wings hear only one song. It is their 'Song of Life,' the rattle and clash of dishes. "It is with such a woman that our present story is concerned. The theme is the tragedy of her discontent. The climax is the redemption and triumph of motherhood." With the final words the organ, which had been playing softly, burst into full volume as the curtains parted and the screen flashed the opening scenes of The Song of Life. March Hares Manager H. R. Kistler of the Savoy, Durham, N. C, finds that anything alive in the lobby attracts the attention of passersby and brings them into the theatre. To advertise The March Hare he , put four sets of Belgian hares of from three to five animals each in cages in the lobby and placarded with catchy lines. One card read "These March hares are tame. You will see a wild one) inside." The picture played during the sort of weather that would make a March hare wild, but the children were delighted, and what delighted the management was that the animals and cages were borrowed, so there was no expense. Getting Information The Trio Theatre, one of Milwaukee's neighborhood houses, wanted to get a slant on their patrons and got out a novel stunt to get the dope. It also built attendance for the showing of Rent Free. They distributed blank cards at the near-by schools, asking for the necessary information. If the card was returned to the box-office filled out, it was good for a free admission. The card wanted to know the names of the favorite stars and "why or why not" the writer had not been attending the Trio Theatre. With the free admissions as the bait, the theatre got the information it wanted. On the opening of Universal's serial, "With Stanley in Africa," Manager Schaefer of the Parthenon, Brooklyn, borrowed some stuffed animals from a teixidermist and placed them with a jungle setting in his lobby. It made a very effective tie-up with the picture. Numerous stills, some cut-outs and a few scenes of Coney Island were dumped in a mill by Mcinager Gersdorf of the Rialto, Macon, Georgia, and this lobby ground out, which to some extent was responsible for the successful run of Paramount's "Saturday Night." Another view of Schaefer's lobby. The big elephant is not stuffed, but is a cut-out from a twenty-four sheet. The man stand ng next to him is genuine and worked the streets in the vicinity of the Parthenon as a ballyhoo during the run of the serial. Ballyhoo and lobby both attracted a great deal of attention. muk mnm IN MmCA