Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

2 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 "TICKET TO PARADISE" . . . REPUBLIC ... 67 MINUTES Roger Pryor . . . Wendy Barrie . . . Claude Gillingwater Just suppose you had plenty of bucks, had a swell business, was on your way to close a big deal, when suddenly . . . B-O-P . . . you were socked on the conk and all the lights went out! . . . You open your eyes what seems centuries later, only to discover to your amazement that you still are in the dark with all the lights very much out, and not knowing from a hole in the wall who, what, or why you are . . . You can't remember your name, address, or phone number. You can't remember whether you are married, engaged, single or what have you. So the psychiatrists work over you until you actually are ready to go nuts, but still you can't remember. Not a brain cell is working. It's just like you were born when you awoke in that stinking hospital quiet after that sock on the dome that put you out. So they keep on trying to make you remember; but it's no dice. You are about ready to really go screwey when you decide to get them to lay off you by agreeing to "remember" whatever they want you to. And there my frans, you have an idea for a story ... A good story . . . All the old wheezes that were pulled according to that formula, started, got goin' and ended up seriously. But in this yarn the story opens up with a sock and socks along at a hilarious pace, hitting plenty of high spots in laughs. ROGER PRYOR and WENDY BARRIE are the love interests, and they do a swell job. Assisting them is the veteran of many a yarn, CLAUDE GILLINGWATER, who just completed another good job in Shirley Temple's "Poor Little Rich Girl." However, we don't mean to tell you that all you have to do to come from behind that black ball is to stick their respective names on the marquee and wait for the bucks to roll in . . . They won't . . . But it's good to know that you have a cast of competent players in a story that would click along nicely without any names at all. TITLE "TICKET TO PARADISE" as a handle is just about perfect for light summer entertainment . . . It's a tag that can be used for a dozen different tie-ups . . . The obvious one of course is the travel agent one . . . Such as, "We can't give you a TICKET TO PARADISE, but we can give you the next best thing in a WORLD CRUISE." We'd suggest that you snipe the tag all over your territory in actual big yella tags, snipes for barns, old buildings, wagons, taxicabs, cars and any other space available. In the pic, Pryor discovers that he's a Yellow Cab driver, so that should be a cinch for you to tie into . . . Tie-up still No. 2 shows Pryor as a Yellow Cab driver answering a call from a street box . . . This still could be mounted in every cab (Yellow or otherwise) mounted on an 11x14 board carrying the playdate, theatre and the usual . . . Copy should be, "Roger Pryor in 'TICKET TO PARADISE' NOW PLAYING at the STRAND was a rich man who got bumped on the CONK and forgot who he was . . He woke up as a cabby . . ." STREET STUNT The old chestnut of having a pretty girl in short skirts skating around the town is always good for plenty of attention . . . Have her pass out large tickets which carry the title prominently . . . The nature of the tag will get lotsa laughs and attention to your picture and playdate. TEASERS You can stir up plenty of attention with any and all of the teaser gags . . . Newspaper one inch slugs, heralds in the form of small cards which can be placed in cars, trolleys, buses, under doors, etc. . . . Have a card made up to look like a traffic summons . . . Tie them on to the windshield wipers of as many cars as you can . . . Another old wheeze that always gets results and is worth repeating is to have a small business card made up to appear as though you had written it in long hand . . . This can be done by any printer who employs the offset process . . . Copy: "Sorry you were out . . . Just got a ticket to 'TICKET TO PARADISE.' Call me at (phone number of theatre) . . ." The ad layouts and copy are good . . . However, you can re-vamp the copy as you please . . . it's all very simply laid out and fool proof . . . Get going on this baby . . . It's a smart piece of comedy and shouldn't be allowed (Continued on page 7)