The Exhibitor (1959)

October 7, 1959 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 29 ’ .. . i. .,..,w.v..n~ . ..v.w.'. . ..> -v^...v.w. ... . A . : • ■ • : •••>> •• . ••• . v • • . • ' v ‘i,’ • * A V ' * ' ’ * ^ . ' ■ * ;vU. Mm LviS . VAC. . .M>.AAi/. . . . Aifci .'. . 7v. . W . ,ww :' i .vA J-viwV. . . . i. . . Aw.1. .v*. . ; . "How I would sell... WARNER BROTHERS' Exciting Technicolor Attraction THE FBI STORY i When we have a headache, we take an aspirin. So let’s first examine the headaches in selling “THE FBI STORY. Then, we can relax and enjoy ourselves by discussing the many natural promotional assets of the picture. A quick appraisal of the newest Warner Brothers product gives two initial impressions: A— Mobsters and FBI work generally are pretty cold stuff. Your name is Lucy Hardesty and you married a man from the FBI... '? » s » . ' ** * * »**« !a*\ : V.! ' :!**** ' < “• i V 25 » V* ii*S> *. .v-t **.» -wg ■Si So you were often on the move. Indian murders in Oklahoma. A spy chase in New York. A killing in Chicago. You couldn’t call it dull. And the fact was, your kids loved it . . . You didn’t celebrate when Congress passed the law that enabled your husband to carry a gun. And you didn’t sleep the night he went after deadly public enemy John Dillinger— or all the other nights with all the other hoodlums . . . You never got rich. You were often scared and alone. But you had something that made it all work. Something called love. And it turned out to be a wonderful life . . . And now it has turned out to be a wonderful motion picture! , The FBI Story James Stewart « as Chip Hardesty, the man behind the badge i Vera miles as tucy Hardesty, the girl behind the man from the FBI WARNER BROS • TECHNICOLOR* « aMERVYN LeROY Production ■ RICHARD L BREEN and JOHN TWIST • MERVYN LeROY • rw stem An Exclusive SHOWMANALYSIS Prepared by— JOHN G. OSBORNE, managing executive of WEST VIRGINIA THEATRICAL ENTERPRISES, INC., Wheeling, W. Va. ABOUT THE AUTHOR • John G. Osborne grew up in Batavia, N.Y., where his father was associated with Nikitas D. Dipson in theatre business in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. After graduating from Dartmouth College, John started in the theatre business in Bradford, Pa., in the fall of 1937. Later that year, he moved to Wheeling, W. Va., where he still resides today. During World War II, John served as an officer for several years in the Navy. Immediately afterward, in 1946, the Osborne family moved to Watkins Glen, N.Y., where they enjoyed 2V2 years of small town life and one-man theatre operation. New back in Wheeling, John is an officer in several of the Dipson Theatres in the Pittsburgh and Cleveland exchange areas. There are currently about 40 Dipson Theatres in several states, and William J. Dipson is the active head of the organization. The rest of the Osborne family consists of a wife and two chilren, a boy and a girl. John They lack the warmth, the glamour, the sex, or what have vou, to attract much female and family interest in the movie. B— Black and white ads in trade magazines, and unin¬ spiring black and white color in the press book create the impression that “THE FBI STORY’’ might be just another routine black and white movie. A two and one-half hour look at the movie itself will quickly demonstrate that “THE FBI STORY’ contains neither of these misleading first impressions. It is a very well done drama with real emotional impact that you will be mighty proud to show on your screen, and for a longer than usual run, too! So let’s see what we can do to correct those first impressions, just in case the public also should react negatively to the initial advertising. A— Stress the female and family approach! 1. Get permission to imprint a personal message to the ladies on the paper napkins used at several local restaurants. The message might read . . . “LADIES, SAVE THIS NAPKIN! You will need it to augment your handkerchief when you see the woman’s side of ‘THE FBI STORY’ . . . now showing, etc." 2. Favor the ads, scene mats, and pressbook stories which stress the female and family angles of the picture. 3. Use any gimmick that has worked for you in the past to create word-of-mouth advertising for the picture, such as special screening for women, a fe¬ male radio personality who coos to her female listen¬ ers that she has just seen the movie and it is tops, MR. OSBORNE BELIEVES that the female and family approach should be stressed, and strongly recommends that ads accenting this approach, isuch as 3-col. Mat No. 311 (396 lines) should be used. The title and action theme will attract the males.