Motion Picture News (Sept-Oct 1918)

September 2 8 , I 9 l S (Special Service Section) 2049 See Uncle Sam 's boys helping to drive the Hun from the seas CRASHING THROUGH TO BERLIN DONT read abort oar sea tighten — SEE THEM! S*e our Destroyer boys on the job — the battleships, cruisers, torpedo boats, sub-chase r3, transports. Uncle Sam building his mighty Bridge of Boats. See how we drop depth bombs on the cowardly Hun — see all the glamour and glory of a sailor's life filmed from authentic scenes of its biggest aspectsSee the whole colossal drama of the war. See it NOW. This chance may never come again. YOUR THEATRE NAME. PRICES. ETC . HERE See our boys on the job! IN CRA TO BERLIN CRASHING ROUGH o BERLIN SEVEN MIGHTY REELS OF AUTHENTIC SCENES THE WHOLE COLOSSAL DRAMA OF THE WAR SEE through (he eye*, of « thoutan whoW miRhtv .p.<lacU of the W Belgium, Eneland. Ruaaia, Am«n(i on the Und. in the air. f or tailor can ■«* •very treat year* filmrd from aulhen hUtorv of the whole conflict up to date, tbe opportunity of your life. IN WAR'S HELLISH CRATER YOU'VE READ the heroic story of our fighting men — now SEE them with your own eye*. See them on sea, on land, in the air. See our wonderful Navy backing up, protecting the Army. See the boys in the trenches enduring the hardships for your sake. See our daring airmen and Uncle Sam's Bridge of Boats. See all the great incidents on every big fighting front for four years past thru the eyes of a thousand cameras — a thrilling panorama of the world conflict, and the only one that gives you a complete, authentic, consecutive picture ofeverything from the invasion of Belgium to to-day. YOUR THEATRE NAME PRICES, ETC., HERE. fieri are three of the business pulling two column advertisements supplied. There are seven different ones of this size and varieties of all sizes from single column to full pages, all ready for use Liberty Loan and the New Draft Help You Boost TWO big, outstanding things furnish almost ready-made exploitation for " Crashing Through to Berlin." These are the new draft law, coupled with the old, and the Fourth Liberty Loan. You have a chance to interest everyone who has a relative or friend who has joined the colors and everyone who is likely to be called to service under the eighteen to forty-five extension. And you have a chance to cooperate with your local committee and do a great deal to aid toward the oversubscription of the Fourth Loan at the same time that you are packing your theatre if you show the picture at any time during the length of that campaign. Go to the members of the committee and tell them what this picture is about, show them how it will serve to stir everyone who sees it and how it will prove even to the doubter that this country is really and truly fighting for the freedom of the world and how it will rehearse the crimes of the H,uns that dragged this country in. TELL them that you know America's part in the war needs no defense, but that if there is a slacker so far as Uncle Sam's war chest is concerned this picture will convert him. When people come to matters of money a lot of them want to deal with actualities. This picture is nothing but actualities. It shows not only the reasons li'hy we are to raise this money, but what is being done with the money that is being raised. It is possible that the committee or local merchants will co-operate with you in advertising " Crashing Through to Berlin." In some cities and in cases of pictures that do not furnish half as good argument for the Loan as this merchants have contributed page advertisements. Certainly you ought to be able to get the co-operation of every merchant in town with window displays. Just at this time all of the merchants will be wanting to have patriotic displays anyhow and it will be easy enough to couple those up with your attraction. A simple announcement card in a window devoted to patriotism and the Fourth Loan will do this. There is every likelihood that it may not have occurred to the Loan committee to get the co-operation of every merchant in the town, and you can do a little "bit" by making the suggestion. Especially with the co-operation of the Loan committee it will be a poor sort of a business man that will not give his fullest co-operation. Of course,' you will have Four-Minute Men at your theatre and a lot of this work you are going to do anyway, but you will get the punch all the way around by coupling up and making the exhibition of " Crashing Through to Berlin " a real occasion. WHEN you take up the appeal to those who had relatives in the original draft or those who are affected by the new law, don't figure the interest merely in your own community, especially if you are in a smaller city. Consider that this will be of wider interest than other pictures that you have shown and that you will draw business from a wide territory. You can probably get the list of those who have already been called to service and the names of their relatives froin the county draft board. If that is not po:.:!.le your local newspaper has probably published these names as the various men have been sent away to camp. Now it is worth while to prepare a special letter for this list. Start it off something like this : " You who have relatives with the colors and fighting for our country will want to see what these boys and boys like them are doing. You will want to see how they are trained, how they are transported abroad, how they are given their finishing lessons in France and actual pictures of them fighting. You will see all of this in the seven-reel production of ' Crashing Through to Berlin ' at the Empire theatre September 29." Then go ahead to tell something more about the picture, using simple statements of fact. IF you are able to get the list of those who have registered in the new draft you should send a special letter to them, changing the introduction so .as to get more intimate touch. Start it off : "You who are subject to call for the service of Uncle Sam will want to see how you will be trained," etc., etc. Then go ahead and tell them what this picture shows and recall that it is a record for all time of the reasons why America has had to take part in the war against the Hun." // you cannot get the list from the draft board you will be able to approximate a fairly correct list. And in this case it doesn't matter if you do make a mistake, for the person concerned will not be miffed. It is a well-known fact that the 'older men like to be mistaken for younger, and that the ambition of the boy below eighteen is to be considered a man. But don't make foolish, obvious mistakes, or your letter is apt to make the recipient consider it a fake. Should there be a number of the men from your neighborhood called and sent away from camp at the time that you' are exploiting the picture it would be well for you to couple up that fact prominently in your advertising. Certainly during this time the draft boards are going to be very busy and you are going to have some event to link right up with the picture. In other words, every big happening on both this side of the ocean and the other is working right with you in the exploitation. Take advantage of all of them.