The Film Daily (1931)

Friday, February 6, 1931 THE DAILV 11 EXPLOITETTES A Clearing House for Tabloid Exploitation Ideas € Advance Ballyhoo Aids "Brothers" A/fERGING an advance campaign with a ballyhoo, Eddie Lewis, manager of the Park Theater, had the entire city buzzing with interest when he played "Brothers" and as a result cleaned up big. Lewis first advertised in the newspapers for two brothers whose physical measurements corresponded to those of Bert Lytell. Securing the men he wanted, Lewis an ■ nounced that brothers would be in town on a specified date. Two days in advance of opening, he published a picture of the ballyhoo brothers and then sent them out on the streets. One brother • was outfitted in evening dress while the other was in "tough" clothes. — Park, Reading, Pa. Springfield Lawyers in "Code" Radio Broadcast V^TTH prominent local members of the legal fraternity in the cast, WBZ broadcast a radio version of "The Criminal Code" as a strong current boost for the Bijou theater's booking. The broadcast was put on as "The Trial of Robert Graham," using the opening situations of the picture and building up interest in the fate of Graham. Listeners-in packed the Bijou to learn what happened to Graham, the Holmes part in the picture. Bijou, Springfield, Mass. TEN YEARS AGO TO-DAY IN ■the nKNOSMPa « him com Important export moves under way. * * * T.O.C.C. fears renewal of National Booking Corp. * * * Goldwyn not to distribute Craig Kennedy features. * * * Famous Players form three more subsidiaries, making seven in last 10 days. • • • JUST WHEN vaudeville is getting set to stage a comeback, these A.M. P. A. weekly luncheons get going so strong that they make vaude shows unnecessary that is, for the empey p.a.'s who attend prexy Mike Simmons was wafted back from a brief sojourn in Southern waters on the breath of Bermuda onions their odoriferous mellifluence impregnated his oily intonations as he catapulted redundant rhetorical verbiage with insouciant abandon (excuse us, gents, we thought for a moment we were Mike hisself) returning by gradual stages to ordinary language that you guys can understand, we're here to state that yestiddy's luncheon at the Dixie hotel was the best entertainment the A.M.P.A. has staged at any luncheon in years there was that sophisticated charmer, Helen Morgan, who obliged with a 11*1 love lieder from the Rhineland, singing it as good as any fraulein from the Berlin stage could have done and Ginger Rogers staged a onegirl show, singing the highlights from the "Girl Crazy" success, and wowing 'em with an Al Jolson finish but the Big Show was an added starter, introduced by Mike O'Toole this gent, Con McCole, from the Pennsy anthracite district, had the pressagey gents rolling off their chairs with a line of ORIGINAL stories that were darbs we can only give you a faint idea in printed words you've got to hear Con tell 'em to fully appreciate 'em he told about a stock salesman who loaded him up on securities just before the market crash, saying: "Mister McCole, they'll never be this price again." now Con sez: "And damned if he wasn't right." those Empey Club stock market suckers should appreciate that one he told one about a Pole who bought a ticket for Scranton, and the ticket seller said: "Change at Bethlehem," as the Slav handed him a $50 bill "Like hell!" yelps the Pole, "You change right here!" An Irishman called to see a sick Scotch friend in the hospital as he stuck his head in the door of the private room, he saw a nurse working over Scotty with a Sun Ray lamp so the Irisher tiptoes away without going in, and meets another harp coming to visit Scotty "Yez are too late," he told the other, "they were just fireproof ing him whin I left." then there was the Scotch minister who scolded the little boy for playing his harmonica on Sunday "Don't you know the Third Commandment?" he admonished .."Nope," sez the kid, "but if you'll whistle it I'll play the damned thing." but his pip yarn was about the Catholic priest in the small mining town who came down the street with one of those patent unbrellas that springs open when you press the button on the handle the miners had never seen such an umbrella a few drops of rain spattered down, and the priest pressed the button and the umbrella flew open "Did yez see that!" gasps one Irish miner, "two draps uv rain, and glory be, his umbrella opens!" and another miner replies: "And sure 'tis a pity there weren't a few Protestants here to witness his powers!" yezzir, Mister Con McCole is a story-teller par excellence next time he comes to an A.M.P.A. luncheon, they'll have to hire Carnegie Hall to accommodate the mob • • • HELEN BRODER1CK of the stage looks like one of the season's real screen finds her comedy work in the "Manicurist" series for Warners' Vitaphone has created a mild sensation Danial Carson Goodman, former empey exec, has a new satirical novel, "Sad, Sad Lover," being brought out by Duffield soon Dorothy Lambeck, assistant to Erie W. Arnold at Pathe, is celebrating her 16th anniversary with the company's home office Martin Starr, the impresario of the Galveston Annual Beauty Contest, is back in town after getting everything set for the international lineup of dazzling femmes Today's Shattered Romance Mrs. Marie Flugarth, stepmother of Viola Dana and Shirley Mason, got a Losang divorce on the grounds that Daddy Flugarth wouldn't get a hair cut « « « » » >i Timely Topics A Digest of Current Opinion — €— Studios Need Original Scenarios "W^ITH some thousands of people writing stories designed to regenerate the screen the problem of story supply should be of small moment to Hollywood. But unfortunately, the problem, while giving no trouble as to quantity, is still acute as to quality. "Does Hollywood need, screen stories?" is the burden of much correspondence from inquirers all over the country. Well, does a fish need water? Meaning thereby that good story material is about the fondest thing a producer is in need of. It is safe to say that of every 100 manuscripts submitted to the studio editors, at least 95 reveal in the first paragraph the utter ignorance of the author as to the principles of story writing. The other five may have literary merit and genuine skill in narrative, but rarely do they possess the form and substance desirable for screen material. Studio readers frequently scan even the most unworthy parchment hoping to discover therein the fragment of an idea, but rarely is their industry rewarded. There seems to be an impression among the better class of writers that the studios do not welcome original manuscripts, or that they pay scant attention to them. If this is true, and I doubt if there is a great degree of truth in it, it is because experience has taught that the assay of a ton of original manuscripts does not run high enough "to justify the time and labor involved in the search. — Lenore Coffee MANY HAPPY UPTURNS Best wishes and congratulations are extended by THE FILM DAILY to the following members of the industry, who are celebrating their birthdays: February 6 Joseph P. Kennedy Ben Lyon Ramon Novarro Lucille W. Gleason Louis Nizer