Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1919)

H)62 (Exhibitors Service) Motion Picture News Scovmd T-fits tmd Errors hi-i.1 >iKi.c^> lii>tli iinaiKiallv .mil arusticallv, would come through with good advertising, and this display proves it. We have seen very tew displays that exploit a feature better than this one The theatre, Miss Pickford and the title of the picture all get the eye at first glance. The line "Folk's I'm here," gives sort of a personal appeal that people who like "'Little Mary" will appreciate. Then comes another njighty good sentence in the first per"M\ First Exlr.iordiiiarv Pic ■DADDyi ^aS' , The famou* Story Boy by Jean M^teter £>ir<cled by Marshall rteilan 'nan* TV«jn rf the Scntif 'Tip Wins • turc " That tells without waste of word* what may be expected, and there is no doubt but that the picture is making good it's promises. If Mr. Dahnken didn't own the First .National Franchise for San Francisco we would say that he might better have left his reference to who was releasing the feature out of the ad., because as a rule we do not believe that "tooting someone else's horn" is good policy, but since in this case he is tooting his own horn, it is all right. // your patrons are merely coming to your theatre to kill time, they're apt to find the slaughter easier elsewhere. pa\-s. If this had been squeezed down into half the space there would have been lost the atmospheric details that make the display as it stands so thoroughly good Tlie boast belongs only to the " confidence" game. THIS is a reproduction of a full page in the July 6th, Sunday edition of the Columbia Record, Columbia, S. C. It was printed in two colors, the cuts, name of star, title of the picture and name of the theatre being in red and the balance black. We do not consider it extraordinary except for it's size which is sufficient CERTAINLY if there was any one in Denver who has just observed to his neighbor, "Is it hot enough for you today ?" took a look at this twelve inch, five column display of the Theatre American lost no time in getting a good seat. It certainly has atmosphere all the way through it and the illustrations have been selected with intelligence and purpose. The figure of the dancing girl at the right gives the flavor of the dance hall and the larger scene at the top pictures the great open country and its snows. Then the drawn in dog sled and fir trees for the backgroimd of the theatre name completes the effect. With the name of the picture properly played, the star brought out we then have the selling argument with: She was married to a t\iy,\t\ve of ttie law; ihe loved a man from the States and a Canuck fBiir .Mitch fxwis) worshipped her. S«e what happened in " Jacques ol the J*orth." We further commend this as an example of the way that adequate niace FOUR DAYS, Tomorrow, '. The Star of • Tboiuuxl Moo<li NAZIMOVA The Actrtu That None Can Equal "THE RED LANTERN" Pfoductirn That No Words Can Describe Posi, pS.9i' WUboot aJ^ifuuiJei la AU th« BrilliaDt History of Motion Pictures MARVELOUS MUSICAL INTERPRET ATION A.clmlsslon Rrlces^ Adults, 50c; Children. 25c mm LESTER'S THEATHE- tf( inform every reader of the Record that "The Red Lantern" was playing at the Rivoli, and carries the idea that this picture is a super-feature. A lot of people judge a show the way they do a circus. Tlie bigger the "flash" the bigger the show. The Rivoli has gone pretty strong in it's >;elling talk. Nazimova in "Revelation," "Out of the Fog" and others has had pictures which merit great praise and to say that "The Red Lantern" is "positively without parallel in all the brilliant history of motion pictures" is making a statement that is rather broad. Without doubt the Rivoli management was not questioned concerning this statement by those who saw "The Red Lantern,!' and people have ben educated to expect the superlaticvc in the advertising of shows, but we think the habit of calling a picture the "best cVer" is bad. If the Rivoli had used some space to ull Lolunibia, S. C, something of what "The Red Lanicrn" was about, and compared the feature favorably with Mile. Naziiiiova's other pictures, which without a doubt every person who saw them remembers, it would have been better. .'Vs the ad. stands it is a big display ih.it tells that the star will play at a certain theatre on certain dates at such and such prices. Only the cuts give an indication of the character of the story. It's not the weather, but it may he in your bones at that — think it over. IT'S pretty tough after a man adopts a style of advertising to find other theatres doing the same thing and blocking him in the plans that he had — to make his displays difTerent. The only thing that can be done in such a case is to change again. Now we are very strong for the hand drawn effect where the lettering is legible and the displays not too crowded, but if the fellow next door is doing the same thing, the drawn letter loses much of its emphasis. Now we have taken from one of the Pittsburg Sunday papers a block showing the advertising of five theatres, three of them under the same management. All of the lettering of these advertisements is of the same general style and all of the displays are much too crowded. The result is bad, the matter is confusing to the reader and the different displays lost their identity. As we have said the only thing to do ;n this case is to change again. Striking half tones and light Roman type effects would do the job in this case. // you don't get out and try to head the batting list you're likely to find the sheriff pinch-hitting for you. IT doesn't pay to try to make one of the ready prepared one column advertisements like this into a two-column display. If the Strand theatre, Cambridge, O., desired more space it should have used a straight single column stock cut of Mae Marsh and then have supplied the type matter. What has been done here is to employ a one column read-made ad. supplied by Goldwyn which already bears all the necessary lettering except the selling argument. Now to the right, in the type matter the same matter has been repeated — plainly a waste of .MATtNEE 10-1 5c STRAND TODAY NIGHT 10-20C ONE DAY ONLY It's a Goldwyn Picture MAE MARSH IN "MONEY MAD" IJy Lois 2ellacr. Directed by , IlBb/irl Heoley. Tl.oTriumphof Quick Wits and W.-irm Hearts in 5 massive acts. ■ EXTRA ADDED -Second <!ni.Mde of 'Thn Tiacr's, •Trail,"^ -THE GLOWING EYES," in two parts: also a Late Weeltly, TOMORROW, ANlTwEDNESDAY V/ILLIAM FOX Pr<^tnt. EVELYN NESBIT md h«' . RUSSEL THAW, i„ . ^ • . ■ • "I WANT TO FORCET" which ,1 Bullcrfly rcd<.cm, her soul in lh= Seciel >rvice, ' space. And we distinctly do not like the expression "In five massive acts." All right for circus stuff, but not here. We are not speaking of this specific case, but it too often happens that the theatre fails to get the right sort of material from his exchange and is left up against it at the last minute. Therefore the justification of our advice that it pays the exhibitor to keep on hand cuts of the stars he plays regularly — the cost is slight and the results certain. Stop talking about what you "did;" make the public talk about what you DO. SOME of you artists who want to write a book every time you start framing an ad. should study this little display of the Hippodrome, Buffalo. In a page full of bigger displays it stuck right out as if it owned the page. If you are using small space as Shea's is doing (this was one column wide and three inches deep) you can't do better than to follow this style. This was the bill at this theater for the first three days of last week. The show without pep is a pretty hard oyster to szvallow. WE are selecting this one of The Spoiler's because it will call your attention to the fact that just because a good picture happens to have been released in the prehistoric ages figured from this "fillum" game angle, that it isn't dead as an attraction. Especially ; is this true of a production like the , Spoilers where the "clothes" aren't I the sort that go out of style every j fifteen minutes.