Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1920)

e b r u a r y 2 S . i (.) 2 v (Exhibitor Service)' l\m Stages Circus for "Her Elephant Man''' St. Louis l^xhibitor Borrows Miinicijial and Transformed Lobh\ Into the " Hi kv/HKN Walter Sliafcr wciii to St. Louis m VV take over the maiiayetncnt ol ilic Liln-rtx :itrc of that city, he carried along with him a ■ Ills I to show even the old timers in the show lie how to put over pictures. To what extent has been successful is illustrated In' an account what he did in the wa.v of exploitation of ShirMason's " Her Klcphant Man," which has just Ncd an engagement at the Liberty. \ week before the opening date for the picture, ifcr hired a clown and after dressing up in a uly costume and prov iding him with a toy eleLiit mounted on wheels started his employee out ihe job of parading St. Louis streets. •11 the elephant was a sign which read: " Shirlcv .>on in Her Elephant Man." .\\. the same time Shafer got bus\ with his publicity. The St. lis papers fell for a siory which said that the •crty theatre's " clown." Sylvanus Storv, In no. was formerly a school teacher at a small Ml in Illinois and that having grown tired of ing to teach Young .\merica how to shoot for \ dollars a month had gone clowning at the rate Slit) per month. Xo name was attached to the ry to identify it as advertising, although the uie did say that Stor\ was working for a d(nvnAii theatre. Then one of the papers printed an ' rview with Storv that could not have failed to widely read. The following is an extract: Story said he 'likes clowning fine' because all has to do is walk nonchalantly down the street i look at people and they laugh, whereas when laught school he had to contend with naughtx and was forced to spend several hours a da\ ining to the cou!itr\ children drone their Ics ■ ■i in the schoolroom. 1 find it is much easier to make friends oi iiatighiy boys on the streets while I am clowning." " Ty said. "'When they come near me I just do a 'c jig or grimace at them, and they are m.\ iriends for life. Tlie> trail me around faithfully. " I don't know what people will think when the\ '! out I am now clowning and I don't care so ^ a^ 1 like the job and am paid more. It has uie me arrive at the conclusion that an\thing • better than teaching school. Story said he had decided several months ago a he would never again teach school. He said L-ral offers of schools in the country had been 'Ic him, but all paid so poorly he could not alii to take them. ' He came to St. Louis several da\ s ago and aniTid an advertisement for a man to wear a •wn suit, inserted in newspapers In Walter D. Hle|")haiu g Top " Jim " and his kccfcr ready to start advertising for "Her Elephant Man .Shafer, maujiger of the theatre. Shai'er said Stor\ is developing rapidl\' as a clown and that he had turned down several professional cknvns who applied for the job since Story has gone to work, in l'a\()r of the former school teacher.'' Teaser ads were run in newspapers and then the announcement of a circus coming to St. Louis in Februarx' when the chill breezes aTe \el blowing, aroused much comment. Then '"Jim," the "papa" elephant of the St. Louis municipal zoo, was thought of as an addition to Shafer's exploitation c.'unpaigii. Through some wire pulling in which the keeper of the zoo. Martin .'Kngermeyer figured, "Jim" took a leading role in the publicity sttinls pulled for the picture. W ith " lim's" big leather sides covered with a sign telling all about the picture attraction at the Liberty, a parade was stiiged about St. Louis's streets. All the youngsters who were w ithin hearing (li>tance of "Jim" from the time he started his tour until it was completed were soon tagging along be hind the elephant and his keeper. Like a snow ball the farther the procession proceeded the larger it became and between "kids" and elephant Shafer's circns parade was a huge success. This stunt also was put over as a news itein and again St. Louis heard about " Her Elephain Man " and the theatre at which it was showing. Not content with a street parade, Shafer made up his mind to carry the circus atmosphere still farther. The Liberty theatre, to use the words of a writer of a morning pa])er. resembled a threering circus. The lobb\' was transformed into a vestibule of a sawdust arena. There was a big spread of canvas, pennants were flving and even the peanuts and red lemonade were provided. .\ brass band which could make just as much noise and more music than a circus organization was engaged. Xothing was left undone and by the time the first show was on crowds were gathering in the l()bb\{Continued on page 2110) CAM w> * tlj Three of Shafer's exploitations stunts for " Ifer Elephant M<iii " at Ihe Liberty theatre, St. Louis