The Moving Picture Weekly (1920-1921)

The Moving Picture Weekly A MAGAZINE FOR MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITORS Published Weekly by the MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY PUB. CO. 1600 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY Paul Gulick, Editor. (Copyright, 1920, Universal Film Mfg. Co. All Rights Reserved.) Vol. 12 JANUARY 22, 1921. No. 23 AiV^ell'Planned Campaign Effective 1^ ELLIOTT STUCKEL, general manager of Stuckel, Inc., Advertising Agents of Butte, Mont., and A. V. Hile, manager of the Ansonia Theatre in that city, are noted throughout the Northwest for their systematic advertising and publicity campaigns. They believe in taking every possible advantage of the exploitation possibilities of a picture. A continued series of box office successes at the Ansonia has proved that their advertising methods are sound. A good example of their carefully arranged exploitation program was the campaign they recently co-operated on in putting over in Butte "Once to Every Woman," the Universal Jewel production starring Dorothy Phillips. Not only did it net an unusual amount of publicity, but it went into the homes and drew unprecedented crowds to the Ansonia. Hile believes in personal contact with his patrons but he does not overdo it. When he gets a really big picture for his theatre, he personally notifies a selected number of his patrons of this fact, by letter. In a carefully worded letter of straight-forward intensity, he tells his patrons a few of the salient facts about the picture. He does not try to drag them to his theatre by high-sounding phrases. Instead, he gains their confidence by his moderation and stimulates their interest by his directness. He also gives them an idea of the punch of the picture. Here is a pai^agraph from his letter on "Once to Every Woman," which is unique in its forceful yet simple description of a gripping scene: "The climax is remarkable in its intensity. Imagine, if you can, the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. As the last notes of a beautiful aria die in the throat of a girl who has the world at her feet, a man in a lone box rises and fires — she clutches at her throat; the curtain falls and the next moment a mad, fighting, clawing mob is rushing through the theatre. It is one of the most tremendous scenes ever filmed." This letter was sent to 1000 prominent citizens of Butte and its vicinity. Each letter contained a copy of the Ben Bolt Super-herald supplied with the picture — a copy of the favorite old ballad, with an attractive picture of Miss Phillips on its cover. Hile followed these letters by the distribution of 1000 more Super-heralds to women attending his theatre on the two days before the play date of "Once to Every Woman." A comprehensive newspaper advertising and publicity schedule was drawn up, including the use of one, t^vo and four column display ads. This netted more than 150 column-inches of layouts and stories, in addition to the advertising space taken, and included three three-column scene cuts from the picture. Next, an attractive lobby display was arranged, using cut-outs from the 24-sheet supplied with the picture. This was supplemented by a Magna Vox horn installed over the front of the theatre, connected to a phonograph in the manager's office. This phonograph played Oriental and operatic airs afternoon and evening during the run of the picture. It could be heard two blocks away. Hiles used a singer in his presentation. She was used in two places in the film, first while the screen heroine was shown singing in the opera. As the shot, described in the foregoing letter was fired, the singer stopped and the trap man duplicated the shot. The effect was intensely realistic. The singer also was used at the sickbed scene when the heroine recovers her voice in singing Ben Bolt for her dying mother. One of the city's leading soloists was engaged for this work. The picture took the city by storm, and hundreds were turned away at every performance during the four days' run. . All former house records at the Ansonia went by the board and the photoplay critics of the local newspapers gave the picture unusually appreciative notices. So impressed were they by Hile's presentation, one critic had the following to say: "When a moving picture production combines excellence of theme, a star and assisting cast of genuine merit, photography of thorough artistry and delightful manner of presentation by the theatre featuring the offering, the affair is bound to be an important success in 'screen' annals."