Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1930)

64 Motion Picture News August 16, 1930 MANAGER!' ROUND TABLE CLUB -«.v-^m^-»^ AND HE WAS A ) MASTER SHOWMAN, TOO! POSTCARDS LEON 0. MUMFORD FROM DENVER, COLORADO Col. W. F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody Flittered Cut-out Letters On Stage Commands Interest A couple of unique stunts were engineered recently by J. F. Thames, Jr., manager of the Saenger Theatre in Vicksburg, Miss., to plug his showing of "The Cuckoos.'' One of the stunts consisted of having flittered cut-out letters on the stage for four days preceding the engagement; the letters spelling out the title of picture. During the showing of the trailer on "Cuckoos," one of the ushers dressed in a "Cuckoo" outfit, played and danced around the flittered letters. This stunt helped to focus attention on the title of picture and to convey the impression as to the comical situations to be found in the picture. For a lobby display, Thames painted a display board and inserted an old cuckoo clock on the top. Wires led from this clock and were pulled by a small boy behind the display which caused the clock to 'Cuckoo' at patrons as they entered and left the theatre. This stunt was used one week in advance and during the engagement. Both gags went over successfully and did a lot towards helping receipts at the box-office. We would like to call your attention to the fact that the flittered letters angle would be a good thing for you to try in case you are looking for a little novelty. Whereas in the past, and even yet, showmen have placed twenty-four sheetboards on the stage, this angle seems also to be of value and we think that if it fits in with your local condition it would be a good angle for you to use on any film of merit you want to sell. Street Parade Was FeatureOf Holden's Recent Show Work It "beats the band" the way Earle Holden, manager of the Fairfax Theatre in Miami, Fla., ties up with local band whenever he thinks that his feature attraction needs a lot of drum beating. And when he played "With Byrd at the South Pole" he decided to give it plenty of publicity. As the photos will show, you can see how Earle tied up with the local Junior Chamber of Commerce, an organization of young men who are always boosting .Miami. The boys had a hand of their own and this was pressed into service to plug the picture. They paraded about the main streets of the town and carried banners announcing their destination. When they arrived at the theatre the) were presented with a picture of Commander Byrd and this was the signal for the newspapers to pick up the story. They did. And the next day the Fairfax was represented in every paper in Miami. This angle was not the only one that Earle used to merchandise the show. He tied up with one of the local papers and arranged to run a contest to decide what child in Miami possessed a dog as near alike as Igloo, the canine which accompanied Byrd on his trip to the South Pole. For the 10 nearest likenesses tickets were presented to the dog owners. Plenty of publicity was secured at no cost to the theatre and a good deal of comment was rife about the town. In order to draw still more attention to the film, Earle erected a large locomotive bell in front of the theatre. The bell was rung five minutes before the starting of the performances and could be heard five blocks away. As this was the first time a thing of this sort had been done in Miami, especially on the Main Street, a great deal of word-of-mouth publicity resulted, all of which tended to increase Earle's box-office and, as usual, click for him. Gold Rush Filled Coffers At Senate For R. C. Rogers With almost every house in Detroit giving away a Ford car it was up to R. C. Rogers, manager of the Senate Theatre in the Michigan City to follow suit. He did; but it wasn't so hot, due to the fact that the cars were pretty expensive for his house to give away and every penny had to be watched to make sure that the idea would pay for itself. This gave Rogers very little opportunity to advertise. So he felt that something else had to be done. Hitting upon a plan, since he felt that a good many persons would much rather have cash than an auto, he decided to give away two hundred dollars in gold. He started off his campaign with a trailer stating that the theatre was going to give away gold. This was followed up with 5,000 handbills and then closed with the giving away of a numbered coupon to every paid admission for ten days before the awards. Three days before the money was given away, Rogers hired an actor, dressed him in a prospector's costume, which included boots, gun, etc., and sent him out to plug the stunt. A miniature covered wagon was built and as the prospector went about the streets he would pull the wagon along with him. The sides of it were lettered : "I'm on my way to the Senate Gold Rush." In addition to this 5,000 pay envelopes, which Rogers promoted from the local bank, were passed out. The envelopes contained a small card plugging the drawing. The stunt went over great and though the house seats 1200 it was found necessary, on the night of the awards, to turn away about 350 people. We understand that it will be repeated again in two weeks and we know that if he adds any new angles to it, Rogers will pass it along to us. Right, "R. C"? A Brooklyn Showwoman It has been called to our attention recently that we sort of overlooked some live-wire showmanship being displayed over in Brooklyn, N. Y., by a woman. This showwoman. Miss Chelle Janis, the only lady manager on the Loew Circuit, has been turning out some great stuff at the Century Theatre. In the past the Century has never made a record for sensational business, so it came as a pleasant surprise to us to hear that Miss Janis has been turning in excellent records with surprising consistency. The work that she is doing along the exploitation and publicity lines is the medium attributed to the success of the house. One of her latest gags was a "Dog Beauty Show," in which prices were given for the cutest, the ugliest, the biggest and the smartest dog in the neighborhood. This stunt was worked in connection with "Hot Dog," one of Metro's animal shorts; and what we'd like to point out now is the fact that Miss Janis was wide-awake enough to cash in on the shorts — thus proving our assertion that one and two reelers are money makers in any man's house and are more than deserving of any publicity you give them. We hope to hear more of Miss Janis' work in the very near future and it would be indeed a pleasure to pass it along.