Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS FILM BULLETIN' AWAKENING THE 'SLEEPERS' The purpose and plan of this department is to bring forcefully to the attention of theatremen those pictures which are ordinarily overlooked or neglected in their advertising. Mr. Wolfe-Smith, prominent theatre publicity expert, aims to point out the latent exploitation angles in these "Sleepers" with the view to having you SELL them to the public in a manner that will bring you the best possible returns. Follow these "Sleeper" campaigns for bigger grosses! By Wolfe-Smith COUNTERFEIT" . . . COLUMBIA ... 74 MINUTES CHESTER MORRIS . . . MARGOT GRAHAME MARIAN MARSH . . . LLOYD NOLAN Millions of dollars that aren't worth the paper it's printed on floods the country every year. Phoney dough printed and shrewdly distributed by organized gangdom mulcts millions of Americans out of millions and baffles the police. That's something to think about! Now it's WAR! War by America's T-Men . . . guardians of the U. S. Treasury . . . against crime's slickest minions — th? counterfeiters! Employing all the devices of science, as well as bullets and tear gas, the T-Men hunt 'em down and rip into 'em. "COUNTERFEIT" — what a title! A darb of an action thriller. A blonde moll as spurious as the money she passes, crossing the cops and double crossing her own gang. But, romance, sentiment, comedy all play secondary roles to the fast-charging melodrama about the rounding up of the bogus money makers ... all on the screen for the first time . . . complete . . . uncensored ! Here it is, guys, one of the juiciest exploitation honeys of this or any season. And, if you can't see the dough in it — honest-togoodness REAL DOUGH — you oughta ask the Columbia exchange manager to lend you enough to have your eyes examined. But, for Pete's sake, make up your mind to go out and work on it! It's a 'money' picture about phoney money that should be sold with a money campaign. That doesn't mean that you have to spend any large amount of your dough on it. It means that you can pull about a dozen or two stunts that will hardly cost you a cent. The first thing you should think about when "Counterfeit" confronts you on your availability sheets is that neatly typed chart of phoney dough serial numbers that you have thumb-tacked in your cashier's cage. And since you are constantly on the alert for bum dough — your second thought might well be, "Is the money in my pocket counterfeit?" That's only natural, guys, when you're reminded of something — you have a PERSONAL reaction first! And believe you me every last one of your customers will have that self same personal reaction when you make them money and counterfeit conscious before you play the picture. Once you steam them up — the picture will sell itself, so get going on this one early — a couple of weeks in advance at least, with newspaper teaser ads as shown in the press book, which are all okeh. Incidentally, grab a copy of this press sheet pronto. It's a peach of a Hy Daab job and gives you the low-down clearer than a-b-c how to milk this pic for s.r.o. biz and plenty of extra bucks. SELL S1.00 BILLS Hire a poorly dressed man to visit busy corners and try to sell good, new $1.00 bills for 75 cents each. Plant the stunt with your local newspaper. The amazing persistence of refusals will make good reading and will tie directly in with the picture. On other busy corners use the counterfeit bill throaway Columbia adexperts have prepared and which is certainly a swell and unusual novelty that will cause everyone in your community to take a second look. Be sure they are given out "face up," as the reverse is blank for your imprint. CAMPAIGN AGAINST COUNTERFEIT MONEY Invite your local secret service treasury men and local police officials with bankers and other prominent citizens to a preview. Have the "press" cover this, and by consulting local bank heads ascertain what particular type of bogus bills are at present circulating through your district and issue formal warnings against them. The bank tellers will tell you wherein lie the deficiencies of the fake bills, making them easily recognizable. TELL YOUR PATRONS HOW TO RECOGNIZE A COUNTERFEIT BILL Supplement whatever information your local bank men give you with the statement (Continued on page 8)