Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1919)

696 Motion Picture News cT/aur cfdea, and Ours* ^PPSHappijIIeuiYcap THIS is a splendid advertisement — except for one thing. There are far too many adjectives and superlatives. If you have been reading these pages you know how firmly we are set against them. Now, though these columns are not supposed to pass on the merits of pictures, we are willing to admit that this is one of the greatest FaMUK'S GREATEST C«AB«CTt» Aj Jtn V»i J >4i u cAt-Ut£ T>at/£onfir — ■BEGINNING TUESdXy^**' TOR. "FIVE DAYS. WjLLiAM "IE/ MISERABlEf WE are not familiar with the circumstances and therefore we are publishing displays with the frank statement that we cannot tell you whether it is a good or bad one. All depends on the time and the manner in which it is used and we havenot been told that. Of course, it is an advertisement of the picture, " Wanted for Murder," and I it undoubtedly attracted attention if it was used as a teaser some days in advance, and FOLLOWED by an announcement of the name of the picture with that of the theatre and the other details. Waterbury is no village, having a census of 82,000, and you are not going to get many people, that is of the class that have the price of admission in their pocket, to go down to " 75 E. Main Street " to see what it was about. If the display was used to make the people watch the papers and see what it really meant, it probably attracted attention. We judge that it was so used, but if . it was not followed up the sales punch of the picture itself was lost. It's always well to arouse curiosity, but remember that you are selling a picture and that you must get the people who want to know they are going to see a picture, and a good one. photoplays that we ever saw. But that does not excuse such words as " Defying Description," " Colossal," " Startling, Sensational, Awesome," and the like, especially in such a high-class theatre as the Dayton, Dayton, O. The writer had already said that Farnum had achieved a triumph beyond anything else that he had done, that this was Hugo's masterpiece, and he might have added that it has been done on a wonderful scale, and then he should have stopped. Our opinion is that he would have attracted more. The average photoplay fan is getting mighty " wise," and when he sees adjectives and superlatives he is mighty apt to come to the conclusion they are camouflage. In order to get the break on New Year's Eve the Dayton held over " The Greatest Thing in Life " for Sunday and Monday and then put on " Les Miserables " Tuesday, running it for the remainder of the week. If the electric sign is the only guide to your theatre, lots of your patrons will appear blind. WANTED FOR MURDER! To the Citizens of Waterbury You arc hereby njmmoocd 10 appear in person at the below designated address 6n Thursday, January Sixteenth. 1919. at ten a. m., w here you are la be * wariest in the above action. THE PEOPLE 75 E. Main St. WE have advised you all along to keep your theatre the dominant thing in the public estimation, but that doesn't mean that you have to slather the name of the theatre all over the page. Here the Wonderland, Clinton, Indiana, would have gotten a much better effect if that hadn't been done. It, in the first place, should have a series of name plates and have used one of these in the upper or lower left hand corner. Then the name of Miss Ward could have V&TONDERLANri ▼ ▼ EXTRA SELECTED STAR PHOTOPLAYS ^^^J Dtinty. Bewitching. AflnHn fanny ward "aTapanese nightingale" Aim or. ihi, prc^nm PATTTE NEWS SUNDAY Contiooui From I O'clock been brought out the stronger. Now with the effect gained and the heavy border used the type prints very heavy while the newspaper does not get a good reproduction of the cut and the latter does not grasp your attention as it should, partly on account of the press work, but more because of the fact that the name of the theatre smashes you in the eye and blinds you for a moment. We are making these criticisms frank because we want to see theatres that evince a willingness to advertise to do better, and certainly the Wonderland is showing that, because it uses nine inches across five columns in this display. now showing— ' //AM. to //Prt. STOPS SAT. MITE Just think of it in20yeare not one spare "dime to sperxi and one morning wake up and find forty million dollars had been left you! '0/> Pep rr/ist See how Wallace \ tries to spend it ( I say tries ) f oo HAM rmijojj T looking for a hard luck story ytay at bo»e PATm^/C^^53 haPPy cic>Juck7 P^ure MEWS THERE is certainly the Happy New Year spirit about this display of the Strand theatre, Omaha, on " Too Many Millions." It is hand drawn throughout and maintains a perfect sense of values. First thing that gets your eye is the smiling face of Wallace Reid, and then you get back to the top of the display with the greetings for 1919. Then there comes a little selling talk on the picture, intimate stuff that will get especially close to one at the holiday season. We also like the way there is displayed at the bottom the announcement of the showing of the pictures of the President's arrival in France. It is well done by the use of a clipping from one of the local papers and the lettering written over this and to the left. And you will note, too, that the name design of the theatre is never sacrificed, no matter what may be the offering or what the occasion. The fellow who is content to sit m his office with his feet on the desk pulling at his pipe, may make a lot of smoke, but he will never set anything on fire. IT is a little late to be printing Christmas displays, but the truth is that we have had so many good advertisements on Mrs. Charlie Chaplin that we could not get to this one before. Strand theatre, Providence, R. L, has used nine inches across three columns and has carried out the spirit of the holidays perfectly and at the same time avoids the messy appearance that too often comes when the exhibitor wants to get the Christmassy effect. The border of holly and the Church text lettering for the name of the theatre perfectly. Although the Strand always runs double bills it features one picture ove the other — always the proper thing to do, because you cannot display two things equally and get the real punch over. You will note that practically all the selling talk is about the marriage except the line, " When you see