Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1923)

December 8, 1923 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 555 Mae Murray Cuts Helps to Agents Most press agents are glad to learn that a Mae Murray picture has been booked, because it always means a set of cuts that will almost frame themselves into advertising displays. The French Doll is no exception to the general rule and as the first of the series we offer a display from the State Theatre, Cleveland. This employs three of the cuts as a semi-frame to the fioevCs STATE A Metro Release MIGHTY GOOD CUTS title and selling talk. The star name is placed above the star figure. It is a simple, yet effective make up, and only one set of a press agent’s delight. The character of the roles played by Miss Murray lend themselves well to striking cuts, but even with this material at hand in the shape of stills the cuts could be pulled down through poor work, but the line stuff is invariably good, which leads to the question as to why other pictures cannot be as well advertised in line, at least as regards cut quality. The answer seems to be that there is no reason other than a failure to obtain good work. More Dark Secrets in This Halftone The management of the Orpheum Theatre, South Bend, Ind., lost a chance for a contest when it put in this display for The Lonely Road and did not make the halftone cut an identification contest. It’s all a deep black mystery, and a half tone like that is about as useful as a bathing suit would be to a cat. When you order a cut and find that the halftone will not print up, amputate it with a file and recast your space, if necessary, rather than spoil your layout with a piece of junk. That space would be far better employed were it used for type, though whoever picks the copy for the Orpheum lacks finesse. In the bank below the signboard is a three paragraph sentence ending with “To return home then meant the lonely road. Would any wife?” That might get interest were it not that in the bank above the board the conclusion runs “the life of a wife who walked the lonely road and the child who kept her there.” What’s the use in asking a question already answered? Either bank would have worked, but one nullifies the other and both should not have been used. After you go through the plan book, read your advertisement over and see if you have doubled. The book carries a mass of material from which you are supposed to select what most appeals to you, but it cannot all be written so as to be interchangeable. Pick out paragraphs that do not fight, but which supplement each other in an harmonious whole. Pick out stuff that matches, and if you find THE IfALI. ROOM ROYS TFTE KINOGRAMS SPECIAL MUSIC PROGRAM BY ORCHESTRA HJLTS 33c CHILDREN Show*— 1:15. 2:3.'., 1:33, C:I5, 7:55. 9:30 NOTE — This fcalurc will also be shown Monday and Tuesday with the Mas First National Release ANOTHER BURNT CORK CUT the various sections are swearing at each other, dig into your book and get something else. There is ample material at your command, but it requires an intelligent selection. Each of these sections nullifies the other. Tells Many Titles in Small Display Getting four titles in a 75-lines by two is something that Nelson B. Bell does regularly for a couple of the Crandall Theatres in Washington, D. C., where others feel that they cannot use type to advantage. Bell feels that he cannot afford cuts in the small space, so he gets plenty of display at line rate in half inch spaces for all but the first Wrtshinslon' § Moil Betmtilal Theater CRANDALL'S AMBASSADOR -18th ST. AND COL. RD.~ M AT IN EES SUNDAY AND SATURDAY , 2 TODAY — MONDAY First Nationat Presents a Favorite CONSTANCE TALMADGE Supported by Jack Mulhall, Claude Cillingicater, Johnny Harron and a. Strong linsemble in a Delightful Film Version of the Famous Stage Success, “DULCY” EXTRA BOBBY VERNON IN “HOLD EVERYTHING” Tnes.-Wed. — Andree Lafayette in “Trilby’.’ Thur.-Fri. — Jackie Coogan in “ Circus Days” Saturday — Raster Keaton in “Three Ages” First National Releases A FOUR-IN-ONE title, which is a spread of two and a quarter inches. This does not count, of course, the signature. It gets further distinction from a smaller companion with a similar weekly program in .a still smaller space. These houses are not played up except on Sunday. They are subsidiary to the first run house and do not draw the same appropriation, but they are fully sold on the Saturday-Sunday •announcement, since the neighborhood patronage stocks up on titles for the week. Going to the Ambassador is more or less a family habit, and big displays are not required, but even at that Mr. Bell does very nicely in the space at his commend and gets a real prominence for his titles. It must have been First National week at the Ambassador, since Dulcy, Trilby and Circus Days form the major portion of the bill. It will be noted that the musical offering is also included in the three line spaces, the smaller features being named just below the title with “Concert number” and the selection on a third line. Evidently it pays to advertise the musical program, too. Builds Fine Display Around a Single Cut Perhaps you can build a better display than this from the Globe Theatre, New Haven, but if you can, please shoot it in. We want to see it. Apparently this is all built around one good cut. It is not a fine piece of drawing, for it is a bit too rough GLOBE THIS WEEK ONLY Beginning Today. SUNDAY. 6 p. m. Continuous 10 a. m. to 11 p. m. *7 he Cosmopolitan Corporation presents Enemies oF Women BY VICENTE BLASCO IBANEZ Lionel Banymore Alma Rubens and an all star cast A Mighty Drama of Europe’s Gilded Social Set— —staged fn unparalleled luxury and splendor In Piyria, Nice and Monte —the sto . Prince Lubinoff and — famous b canty of the entire continent. —by Vicente Blasco Ibane*. author of “The Four Horaemen” and "Blood and Bandl" one of the most magnificent dramatic spectacles of all time I A Goldwyn-CosmopoUtan Release WORTH YOUR ATTENTION to class high, but it is something more than that. It is strong and forceful, and that is to be preferred to delicacy of line in a newspaper display. Apparently the cut was made the basis of the entire display, the remainder being built in around this, with the heavy title and other lines at the top and a small panel below, where it will not detract from the art work. The cut carries the glance up the space and into the announcement display, but it gets a chance to do that because there is nothing at the bottom to hinder the start. Probably the same result could be achieved by opening at the top and putting the heavy lines at the bottom, but we do not think that this would hold true in the same degree since the top of the cut is more interesting than the lower portion and so the interest naturally centres there. We think that even this matter was studied out, though it is possible that the agent did the placement through instinct rather than study. This layout might not work as well with all cuts, but we think that with this particular cut a better display could not well have been planned. It’s pretty work.