Moving Picture World (Dec 1920)

614 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 4, 1920 Selling the Picture to the&Public Played Advice Angle for “Love Expert" Engagement Paying up the tite, the Rialto, Laredo, Texas, put over Constance Talmadge in “The Love Expert” in a series of teasers on slides and in the papers. All of the liners dwelt upon the invaluable advice the Love Expert could give in affairs of the heart and made appeals to the lovelorn to come and be comforted with counsel. The teaser campaign was carried a full week before the opening, and the number of young people in the house proved that the teasers had been taken seriously, for more than one young woman with a determined glint in her eyes led her intended victim to the box office and made him plank down the coin that might lead to his undoing. Made Big T own Display in Small T own T heatre Exploitation seemed to be particularly necessary to W. H. Ostenburg, Jr., when he booked “The Revenge of Tarzan” at his Royal Theatre, Gering, Neb. He had a big picture, and he did not have it for a run long enough to be able to realize on wordof-mouth publicity. He had to get it in a hurry. Goldwyn’s Denver exploitation man gave him an idea and when Tarzan came to the Royal he felt quite at home in the jungle front. This looks a lot, but really it is very simple. Mr. Ostenburg was able to borrow a couple of palms to give a tropical suggestion to the foliage. All of the rest was foliage from the nearby woods. The palms alibied the lot. The top decoration ran right up to the mounted 2-sheet, which served as a banner, and to some degree worked into the color scheme. Below a cutout of Tarzan from the three-sheet and a cutout monkey gave life to the scene. The frames were not permanently fixed as shown, but were moved in when the photograph was taken. Back of them is a grass-covered box office to match the rest of the set. It was all inexpensive, but because it was appropriate it had the crowd all in line at the first show and cleaned up all the business. This Mystery Girl Had an Itching Epidermis C. C. Deardouff, of the Goldwyn Cleveland exchange, dug up the old mystery girl stunt to put over “Scratch My Back” at the Majestic, Jackson, Mich. She made the town with a mask on, and for a couple of days she just circulated around, while the newspaper carried stories of her doings, a reporter having been told off to follow her when the management explained the stunt to the editor. The day the feature opened, she added a young man to her train and they rode around town in an automobile. Every few blocks she would drop her fur cape and expose her bare back to the fingernails of her companion, after which a sign for the attraction would be dropped overboard. Then it was announced that the girl would remove her mask on the stage at the first showing, and that pulled so strongly that they had to repeat on the second night show with the standout patiently waiting for more than an hour. Deardouff also got a two-page hook-up with the misspelled word feature with 96 ticket prizes. Hyman’s Musical Program For the week commencing November 28, the Mark Strand, Brooklyn, will offer seven special numbers, counting the organ solo which bridges the shows. This is slightly in excess of the usual program and is designed to offset the lack of these features last week when only a prologue was used with “Kismet.” The overture is Liszt’s Second Hungarian Rhapsody. The green plush drop to the production stage is lighted with emerald foots, 1,000 watt straw colored lights at the EDIT. L. HYMAN sides toning the color. One-half of the orchestra stage is lighted in orange and the other half in green. Colors on throughout. House lights dim until closed, when they come on full. Sullivan’s “The Lost Chord” is sung by Walter Smith as a bass solo, sitting at the organ in a surplice church set. Orchestra in deep blue, pale afternoon light through window at back of stage, throwing colored patches on organ and singer. Singer illuminated by baby spot. House lights pale amber. Tosti’s “Good Bye,” soprano solo by Kitty McLaughlin. Sung as straight concert number in front of orchestra. Orchestra in darkness with spot on singer. House lights changing color throughout song. A dancing number with three dancers in an Urban-style exterior with fountain. The nymphs do an interpretive dance. House lights golden flood, orchestra magenta flood, stage full lighted. A joyous number expressive of the dance. The “Doll Song” from “The Tales of Hoffman” is sung by Amanda Brown in a conventional drop of neutral colors. The singer, costumed as a doll, goes through the number with the mechanical movements of a doll. House in blue flood. Orchestra dark. White spot follows the singer. An instrumental number is the “Old Timers’ Waltz,” introducing many of the old favorites with snappy film captions timed to run so that the footage will match the length of the selection, avoiding a bare screen. This number is similar to that used two weeks ago when selections from current musical plays were given. A more detailed description of this number will be given later. The performance closes with the “Processional March” by Gounod. You don’t have to have a symphony orchestra and a big light equipment to follow Hyman. Do what you can with your musical stuff and you’ll make your program more individual and attractive. MAKING THE EENGEFUL TARZAN FEEL AT HOME IV. H. Ostenburg, Jr., of Gering, Neb., borrowed a couple of palms and filled in with Nebraska foliage for Goldwyn’s "The Revenge of Tarzan,” and it looked just like Africa. He had to get them quickly, and he did