Associated First National Franchise (1921)

T2 First National Franchise Semi-Monthly First National Week at the Strand, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, witnessed some excellent lobby displays. The display on the two center easels is for "Man WomanMarriage ' 1 ManWoman -Marriage" Week STRAND IN CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, DOES CREDITABLE EXPLOITATION WORK FOR IT FIRST NATIONAL Week went over with a zip-bang in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, according to Arthur E. Weld, manager of the Strand. "Man-Woman-Marriage," the Allan Holubar production starring Dorothy Phillips, was the attraction — and it proved a real one. To start the ball rolling, Manager Weld had an artist paint his window cards, each of which bore the significant milestone design. To aid the teaser campaign the newspapers were used liberally and the whole city was covered by four-page pamphlets, also designed by Mr. Weld. Before the show opened everyone in Cedar Rapids knew something big was going to take place at the Strand. The lobby was given especial attention. Pennants calling attention to First National Week, which had been furnished by the exchange, were used liberally and one side of the lobby frame was devoted to five separate scenes all done in oil, linked together panoramically by mountains and valley. Large milestones emblematic of the picture hooked up the lobby with the newspaper advertising and pamphlets. A suspended sixsheet frame held three dozen pictures of the production, while the center of the lobby was set off by an oil painting, four by eight feet, done by Artist Frank W. Daake. The painting represented time from the stone age to modern days. In the midst of a chain of mountains gleaned a diamond ring like the scintilating rays of the sun, and from the glitter emerged a bride and groom with the clergyman reading a marriage ceremony. Then a new admission sign was hung in the window to show increased prices, as Manager Weld felt that a super-production of this class was worthy of increased admission prices. The picture was put over to big business for an entire week — a period three days in excess of the time usually allotted the bigger pictures. Bob Hampton of Placer 9 Publicity INDIAN TRIBE PUT TO GOOD USE FOR KANSAS CITY ENGAGEMENT AT NEWMAN THEATRE MILTON FELD, manager of the Newman Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri, scored one of the most striking exploitation triumphs in local theatrical history last week when he turned his Indian ballyhoo for "Bob Hampton of Placer," Marshall Neilan's latest production distributed by Associated First National Pictures, Inc., into a 100-cents-on-the-dollar exploitation investment for this production. Aside from the fact that the Indians appeared in a special prologue which Mr. Feld staged for this picture, the Blackfeet contingent was put to good use in the lobby, and attracted a considerable amount of attention. Probably the best use which the Newman Theatre made of the Indians was in using them as an inspirational means for the various Kansas City newspaper feature writers. The biggest publicity source for the Newman was brought about by capitalizing the fact that an Indian, by the name of Fred Big Top, a member of the Blackfeet tribe, was serving a sentence in the Federal penitentiary at Leavenworth on a criminal case. Fred Big Top has still fifteen years of his sentence to serve. The Newman arranged for one of the feature writers of the Kansas City Post to accompany the Indians on a visit to the prison to see Fred Big Top. This trip turned out to be another source of publicity, with the result that the Indians, or perhaps the feature writer, decided that they would ask President Harding for a pardon for Fred Big Top. Barney Oldfield arrived in town a day or so after the Indians. He had met most of the members of this tribe when he was out in Glacier National Park and the renewal of acquaintances was turned into more feature stories. Oldfield was initiated into the tribe. As a result of this publicity, the showing of "Bob Hampton of Placer" in Kansas City went over with a bang. Watts Advertises and Cashes In for "Man-WomanMarriage 9 ' Manager Harry Watts, of the Strand Theatre, Omaha, Nebraska, believes the motion picture houses can make more use of an idea that is ages old in the "legitimate" theatre business — that of advertising a picture heavily before its opening, then letting it take care of itself, with moderate advertising, thereafter. He tried this with Allen Holubar's "Man-WomanMarriage," starring Dorothy Phillips, and distributed by Associated First National Pictures, and his plan met with big success. For ten days the picture ran, growing steadily. "It was the most successful ten-day run I ever had," said Mr. Watts. The Strand is one of the leading theatres in Omaha. "For three weeks in advance I played the billboards heavily," said Mr. Watts, "using four times my usual amount of paper. I had forty twenty-eight sheets — that is, the twenty-fours with a four-sheet announcement attached — and thirty-five eight-sheets. "I showed trailers on the screen, and I plunged with big newspaper advertising. My lobby was especially decorated with stills and some especially hand-painted one-sheets and three-sheets. "I plan to do the same with 'The Passion Flower' and other especially good pictures which I have coming." First National Play Dates First Means Better Pictures at Less Cost Putnam Stencils Herald and Mimeographs Them W. D. Putnam, of Fayette, Alabama, has his own method of advertising to his patrons. Mr. Putnam operates in a town of 1500 population and in order to give his people the best pictures he secured a First National Franchise and heralds the approach of his attractions by such ingenious and clever personal notices that business fairly hums at his box office window. Mr. Putnam stencils his advertisements and runs them off on a mimeograph. A little time, a little thought and presto, he has an abundance of publicity to distribute broadcast at an infinitesimal cost and so out-of-the-ordinary the public's interest is excited immediately and they just naturally have to dig up the admission price.