Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

Exploiting the New Films How the recent pictures are being sold the first run and pre-release date showi OBJECTIVE, BURMA Seven straight days of newspaper publicity, in featured layouts headed "Heroes of the Home Front," was the highlight of the campaign put over by Charles A. Smakwitz for the showing of Warner's "Objective, Burma," at the Strand theatre, Albany. On each of seven successive nights during the first week of the "Burma" run in Albany different groups of home front war plant workers, mostly with relatives in the service, were honored by citations from the local War Manpower Commission. Presentations were made on the stage of the Strand, and the guests were entertained for the evening through the courtesy of Errol Flynn, star of "Objective, Burma." All of the presentations received newspaper stories and pictures in next day's Albany papers. In addition to this highly favorable publicity and the goodwill created by the recognition conferred on the deserving home front workers, the series of citations promoted much word-of-mouth talk about "Burma" throughout Albany's v/ar plants and had a very stimulating effect on the morale of the workers in these plants. To advertise the picture's engagement at the RKO Orpheum theatre in Des Moines, manager Walter H. Ahrens used a 1200 line newspaper campaign and received several publicity stories and art photos in the Tribune and Sunday Register. One hundred six-color processed window cards were spotted in prominent downtown stores and a special lobby display was built by the sign shop to augment regular panels. The local Motorola distributor bought extra newspaper space with prominent picture and theatre credits and arranged for displays in several of their outlet stores in the city. Harry MacDonald, manager of the Warner theatre in Milwaukee, arranged an excellent Lobby display created by Gertrude Tracey, manager of the Ohio theatre in Cleveland, has si copy lines to promote the date on "Mr. Emmanuel." tieup with the Signal Battery Co. to promote the film's engagement in that city. The firm, which manufactures accessories for the portable radio equipment which figures in the plot of the film, purchased 5,000 theatre tickets to see "Objective Burma" and distributed them free to all employees. Blowups of a Western Union telegram sent by Errol Flynn, star of the picture, to the general manager of the plant congratulating the employees on their war effort were posted throughout the plant. The Signal Battery Co. VlKJHICe SON HY & OH THE Robert M. Weitman, managing director of the Paramount theatre on Broadway in New York, used this especially attractive set-piece atop the main stairway in the Paramount lobby to exploit his booking of "Bring on the Girls." This display, as may be seen from the photograph above, was unusually large, measuring 40 feet in width. also sponsored large display ads plugging film on the day before Opening. At a press screening of the picture, A officers gave a demonstration of the port radio equipment for the reviewers, which suited in fine publicity breaks. MR. EMMANUEL "Mr. Emmanuel" received exceptional ne paper reviews and an enthusiastic recept from such societies and organizations as Board of Education, League for Hui Rights, Jewish Center, Jewish Commui Council, Cinema Club and Motion Pict Council during early engagements of the filn Loew's Ohio in Cleveland and the Roger Sbl man theatre in New Haven. In Cleveland, Loew's publicity chief, Fischer, and manager Gertrude Tracey $ with all motion picture groups and all ci and religious groups active in the fight agai intolerance and, after discussing the merits "Mr. Emmanuel," received 100 per cent operation from everyone. The entire public facilities of the above organizations — stori house organs, bulletins, talks before group: were swung into action for the campaign. Je ish agencies, especially, greeted the picti warmly, with Rabbis using "Mr. Emmanuf for sermon topics, and such newspapers as t Jewish Forward, Jewish Freiheit and Jewtx World making the picture the subject of e<] torials and feature stories. An exceptional radio campaign on statio WTAM, WGAR, WHK and WJW also fe tured the Cleveland campaign, with stroi plugs accorded the film by Dorothy Fuldhei of WJW and Sidney Andorn of WGAR. book tieup with the 26 branches of the Clevi land Public Library system was landed for Louis Golding best-seller, and similar tie promoted with such downtown bookstores (Continued on following page) MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 17. 194