Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1945)

SHOWMEN SAY IT WITH MUSIC ON "SONG TO REMEMBER " Local Theatremen Exploit School, Library and Merchant Facilities Promoting the unusual music score in "A Song to Remember" has resulted in outstanding tieups where alert and energetic theatremen have gone after national and local exploitation angles. In St. Louis, in advance of the picture's engagement at the State theatre, Ted Barker, publicity director for the local Loew houses, obtained the endorsement of the Board of Education and permission to visit all high school auditoriums where a special transcription was played for the assembled students. The transcription which ran for 15 minutes featured Dr. Sigmund Spaeth, Ben Grauer and Chopin's music. A local tobacco wholesaler distributed 5,000 11 by 14 cards to all dealers in the area which read: "A Song to Remember" — No Cigarettes, etc. Five hundred special cards were distributed by the St. Louis News Company to newsstands and magazine dealers which were tied in with Modern Screen magazine. The Aeolian Co. mailed 3,500 inserts to a select list of music lovers with theatre credits. Numerous radio plugs were promoted over all local stations ; art and stories were planted in the newspapers including a full-page color photo of the star which appeared in the Sunday Post Dispatch; special lobby setpieces were displayed well in advance; fifty 24-sheets were posted two weeks ahead of opening and all trolleys and buses carried two-color process cards. New Orleans Plugs Talent Search Working with Radio Station WWL, Vic Meyer and Gar Moore, Orpheum, New Orleans, conducted Columbia Pictures' national George Sand Memorial Talent Search in conjunction with the showing of the picture. In addition to sustaining time on the station, the contest was plugged on a daily commercial program which conducted a question and answer session. The national Jo Copeland fashion tie-up Left, Nathan Wise, publicity manager, and E. Jones, manager of the RKO Capitol in Cincinnati, arranged several displays in city's important hotels, like the Netherland Plaza shown here. Right, manager Yic Meyer es of the Orpheum, New Orleans, spotted this eyecatching poster on busy Canal Street. worked in locally for a series of excellent department store windows and good-sized newspaper advertising. In the downtown section of the city, six Victor Record dealers devoted their entire windows to special displays. Other phases of the impressive campaign included a display in the main branch of the public library; a window display and newspaper ad on the Shire-Tex slacks tie-up and a 40foot street banner. Through the efforts of Loew's Boston division manager, Charles Kurtzman, and Joe Longo, Publicist, displays heralding the engagement of the film at Loew's State and Orpheum theatres were arranged in the 35 branches of the public library system. The displays featured material on both Chopin and Madame Sand, embellished with scene stills. Ten thousand book marks were distributed by the libraries. Other phases of the Boston campaign in In Boston, tieup with local news distributor got neat plug for "Song To Remember" in advance of opening at the State and Orpheum theatres. eluded the sponsorship by radio station WBZ of the George Sand Memorial Talent Search; displays in the windows of 90 Victor Record dealers; window and newspaper advertising on the Jo Copeland fashion tie-up ; window and newspaper advertising on the Shire-Tex slacks tie-up; banners on both sides of 15 magazine distributing trucks with copy tying the picture in with pictorial breaks in Redback magazine; a "things to remember" shopping list inserted into parcels by a chain of grocery stores ; and the sponsoring of the Dr. Sigmund Spaeth tune-tracing exploitation record on five dif¥erent radio stations. The George Sand Memorial Talent Search was co-sponsored in New Haven by Radio Station WELI in arrangements completed by Morris Rosenthal, manager, and Lou Brown, publicity director, of Loew's Poli theatre in that city. Final judging of the contest took place on the stage of the Koli. Local prizes to the winner included a War Bond from the theatre and a necklace from a local jeweler. The winner also was entered in the national finals. The radio station plugged the contest several times a day during the run. School Students Hear Transcription Two New Haven high schools presented the Dr. Sigmund Spaeth tune-tracing record to students at assembly. Other phases of the campaign included "A Song to Remember" musical contest program on a local radio station ; 2,000 grocery "things to remember" package stuffers ; an exhibit in the public library which also distributed 3,000 bookmarks ; and a number of window displays. The playing of the Dr. Sigmund Spaeth tunetracing record to the assembled students of a number of Springfield, Massachusetts, high schools, highlighted the exploitation campaign I)ut on by Al Anders, manager of the Bijou theatre to herald the film's arrival in that city. Several of the national tie-ups were developed, particularly the Victor Record tie-up, which resulted in a number of full window displays, and the Glenwear Blouse tie-up in which the picture title was prominently mentioned. 74 MOTION PICTURE HERALD. FEBRUARY 24, 1945