Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1943)

August 2 1, I 943 MANAGERS' ROUND TABLE 53 Irving Liner's Staten Island District of the Fabian circuit ran a Beautiful Legs Contest for "Coney Island". At the St. George theatre each contestant carried a card as they walked on stage, with the striking effect pictured above. Mollie Stickles Reports On Recent Activities In advance of her date on "Mr. Lucky" at the Poli Strand, in Waterbury, Conn., Mollie Stickles was able to place 3,000 inserts in Cosmopolitan Magazine through a tieup with a local news delivery agency. Tack cards were placed on all magazine racks and 22 by 28 cards on the city's leading newsstands. In addition, the delivery trucks were bannered. As a teaser gag, 5,000 pretzels were distributed in imprinted envelopes with theatre credits. Posters on the picture were placed in offices of various War Relief agencies, pointing up the theme. For "Presenting Lily Mars," a local five and dime store ran a large window display on a Judy Garland musical quiz with questions to be answered. In order to get people into the store and focus attention on the window and contest, announcements were made over their street broadcasting system. The store also printed up all the entry blanks and handed them out in their large record department Radio co-operation included recordings played by Tommy Dorsey and Bob Crosby daily for the first three days of the engagement. Ahead of "Harrigan's Kid," Mollie dressed the entire staff in jockey suits and caps with sashes lettered with picture title and playdates. For a street ballyhoo, Mollie had a lad carry a sandwich sign, one side of which read : "Whoa I Stop and read about 'Harrigan's Kid.' " The other side featured pressbook layouts on the picture. One of the department stores purchased a block of tickets and gave them away to their customers, publicizing the fact in their radio program several days before opening. Herlcowitz Gets Big Opening With "Stormy Weather" Fred Herkowitz, RKO publicity man for the Charles McDonald houses in New York, put on a terrific campaign at the RKO Alhambra theatre, in Harlem, that resulted in a record breaking opening for the feature, "Stormy Weather." The picture opened day-and-date with the downtown Roxy theatre. Seven days before the Alhambra run, the front of the theatre carried "Stormy Weather" teaser messages. 700 cards, one hundred 3-sheets and 25 sixes were posted throughout Harlem. Twenty merchants' store windows carried the "Welcome to 'Stormy Weather' " messages. A 20-foot banner, valances and a 100-foot front which included fifteen 40 x 80 life size blowups of the stars, were used around the theatre. The local papers carried 900 lines of paid ads, eight columns of pictures and story breaks, including a full backpage of Lena Home in the Harlem tabloid, "The People's Voice." 600 lines of ads were promoted from local merchants. Other RKO theatres in Harlem ran trailers, and had lobby displays selling the premiere. The opening night was a gala occasion. The carpet was rolled out on the sidewalk and Buddy Bowser, well-known Harlem master of ceremonies, was at the sidewalk mike. Harlem dignitaries and celebrities were invited down and the 15th Regiment sent 300 men in full regalia in a grand parade to the front of the theatre. The colorguard went through the usual ceremony and Col. W. Woodruff Chisum, who headed the regiment, made a one-minute address. Mildred Fitzgibbons Organizes "Shangri-La" War Stamp Club Pn conjunction with the drive to build the Air-Craft Carrier "Shangri-La," through the sale of Bonds and Stamps, Mildred Fitzgibbons at the Skouras Roosevelt theatre, in Flushing, L. L, distributed heralds to children in her vicinity inviting them to join the "Shangri-La War Stamp Club." To the boy and girl selling the greatest number of Stamps, a first prize of a fifty-dollar Bond was awarded; a twenty-five-dollar Bond going to the runner up, with a season pass to any Skouras theatre going to the third winner. To further attract the kids, Mildred constructed a special lobby display which featured a cutout of Hitler, into the mouth of which the youngsters were invited to place their ballots. A punching bag with a picture of Tojo on it was also made available to the kids, who were asked to purchase a stamp and "smack Tojo."