Year book of motion pictures (1936)

pie will linger to test their eyes. It makes the stunt more attractive to have each line printed in a different color. Hostess • SMALL town theaters will find this a good idea to build up matinee business. Employ a hostess as a sort of greeter, spending as much of her time as possible in the lobby. It is her job to get acquainted with the women she does not know. She makes them feel that it is a matter of personal concern to her that they do not miss any of the good shows. She also contacts her friends, keeps her eye on the children, and generally promotes a spirit of friendliness and goodwill. A good hostess can earn her pay in tickets sold, and by attending women's clubs get over a lot of valuable publicity where it will do the most good. Bicycle Stunt • AS LONG as the bicycle fad is with us, this one is good. Run a seven-day endurance bike race in the lobby. An attractive femme in racing togs rides a treadmill daily during certain hours. Patrons can submit their estimates of the distance she will have traveled by the end of the grind. The sporting goods store or department store can be relied on to put up stiitable prizes. Summer Colors • IN ORDER to secure a cool-looking lobby for the hot months, study your color combinations. Try a bright green on a glossy white ground for your signs. Dress up your lobby with a complete suite of signs in this combination and you can ease up on the air conditioner, for the place will look so cool. There is a combination of a light purple, just off the lilac, and a peagreen that will give more delicated effects, if a quieter lobby is desired. Deep blue on a greenish light blue can be made to suggest an icy background, and light blue letters against a very faint pink is another good combination that does not heat up. Strong reds and yellows should be omitted from lobby displays until the snow flies. Another inviting stunt is to drop the cross lobby banner down to within eight feet of the floor and light from behind with plenty of rose-colored bulbs. If you use spots, use steel, light blue and pink mediums and lay off the strong purples and reds. Flower Shows • ENLIST the support of the local growers and florists for a fall flower show. Split up the list of awards with a prize for the best bouquet, best chrysanthemums, etc. Get several competent judges. Pick them from out of town, as all the local growers will be in the contest. Contact the women's page editors and the garden clubs, and start in early to build it up. It's a lot of work, but it will moke your theater a landmark with everybody talking if properly handled. Auto Novelty • ON A FEATURE with an automobile atmosphere, put a three-sheet in the lobby showing the auto coming head-on to the spectator. Back of the board place an auto horn, operated with a pushbutton by the doorkeeper. When the latter sees someone looking at the sheet, he blows the horn, getting a laugh out of the gazer. The effect of the sudden honk is much better than a steady series of blasts. Greeter • IF YOUR theater is rather large, you will find that you doorman is familiar with the faces and in many cases the names of o lot of patrons you do not know. It is a good stunt to have him introduce you to these people as they come in. This not only gives cm intimate touch, but people respect the doorman more when they find he stands so well with the boss. The result is that at times when you are unable to be in the lobby, your doorman's greeting does almost as welL Local Football • IN A TOWN where there is a strong college or high school football team, this can be worked effectively on a football feature. Stills from the picture are mounted on a compo board about 40 x 80. At the top place the heads of the two leading players of the local team on each side of a large head of the star of the feature. Then the lobby can be build up with the pennants and baimers of the school, all forming an effective display at slight expense. Voice Test • THE "Hollywood Voice Test" can eosily be arranged with the help of a radio store. A microphone is set up on one side of the lobby. It is connected by wires r\mning inconspicuously around the door frames to a radio on the other side. Patrons are invited to speak through the mike and hear their voices come out of the radio on the opposite wall. The girls will be foimd anxious to try out their voices, and the men go for this stunt, too. Reviewers • IN THE larger cities this one always clicks. The Broadway houses in New York use it every second or third week, so it must be good. On a feature that lands good reviews from the local critics, have the comments photographically enlarged. Play up the name of critic, and give him prominence on additional cards. Display these right out front. It creates goodwill with the local scribes, and you can't go wrong there. 848