Moving Picture World (Nov-Dec 1923)

December 29, 1923 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 819 Had the Constable Look for Strangers Setting the stage constable to look fqr Strangers of tha Night was one way of putting over the title when that production played the Grand Theatre, Columbus, Ohio. Albert Kauffman, Metro publicity pusher, rigged out a gaunt husky with the tin star and a bloodthirsty sausage hound, gave him a rusty gun and told him to go to it. On his back he carried a sign asking “Have you seen any Strangers of the Night?” A Metro Release THE CONSTABLE There was no mention of the house. It was figured that if people were interested in the ballyhoo they would look up the theatre, it being taken for granted that it must be a picture. It worked well in Columbus. Passed Passes Fake “this is not a” tickets to the ArmyNavy game in New York flooded Broadway while the crowd was in town for the game. The ticket read that the slip was not good for a matinee ticket to The Hunchback of Notre Dame if presented at the box office accompanied by the regular price of admission. This was no great concession, but when it is remembered that some of the two dollar shows were selling for seven dollars a copy for that evening, it at least showed forbearance. The back of the card was the best bet. It showed the stars of the Army and Navy and Notre Dame, offering the Army quarterback, the Navy fullback and the Notre Dame hunchback, a clever play on the word. Used Two Vets Two old stunts made one new good business for Safety Last at the Milda Theatre, Chicago. George E. McDonald got out antiparking signs reading: “Police. Don’t park here. Be safe. Go to the Milda Theatre and see Harold Lloyd in Safety Last all week commencing, etc.” Another stunt was a white card printed up with this copy: BUT THIS PROPERTY QUICKLY — ITS “GOING UP LIKE DOUGLAS Mac LEAN at GRAUMAN’S METROPOLITAN STARTS SAT. OCT. 2Qth A Rathe Release THE CLOSED CARD These were hung on the handles of store doors early Sunday morning and remained on until the stores were opened the following morning, that Sunday being the opening of the Lloyd comedy at the Milda. It’s old, but it always seems to work, if not worked too often. Tackled Taxis Something a little different was worked by Metro and a New York taxicab company on a ten-day drive recently when 100,000 joint circulars were distributed in the cabs of this particular company. It was a double face, one side splitting between the cabs and Scaramouche, which is having an unforced run at the Fortyfourth Street Theatre. The other side gives the list of the cab stations with an advertisement for Scaramouche every alternate line. These were placed in receptacles in the cabs and departing patrons were asked by the drivers to take one. If you have worked out the usual spare tire and window hook-ups, perhaps you can get a new kick out of this. Ties Staid Bank to Keaton Hats Three or four years ago banks and bankers were approached, hat in hand and one foot headed constantly in the general direction of the nearest exit. Care was taken that only the most dignified stunts were offered, mostly straight business getting ideas. And now comes the announcement that a Pittsburgh bank has been tied up strong to the absurd Buster Keaton hats, with a cartoonist in the window, too. Credit C. C. Deardouff, Metro exploitationist. He hooked the Pennsylvania Trust Company to the hats and a pass distribution in connection with Three Ages. The hats come flat and have to be cut out and assembled. The bank distributed several thousand of these, printed up with little arguments in favor of thrift, and announced that on a certain afternoon it would distribute 2,000 passes to the Aldine Theatre to children who presented themselves wearing the Keaton hats. The arguments were pointed up with cartoon drawings. Several thousand children stormed the street in front of the bank, anxious to be among the lucky two thousand, and the bank liked the stunt so well that for ten days the cartoonist was permitted to make sketches in the bank’s window, wearing a Keaton hat and surrounded by a regular art gallery of cartoons and stills for Three Ages. Proved He Could With a pitying smile the manager of a local prize fight told J. B. Carroll, of the Victory Theatre, Tampa, that he could tell the customers about the big fight in The Spoilers if he wanted to. The pity was due to the fact that the experiment had been tried before and the announcer always got “the bird.” But Mr. Carroll figured that this crowd, drawn to the biggest mill of the season, would be particularly interested in the big fight in the play and he got a large lunged person to make a spiel. And to the puzzh' ment of the fight promoter, the large au en„„ listened quietly. More th:... that, th <=* sudden iifm-nye in the business the last two days of \v. run, following the fight, proved that it had worked, for business went up instead of taking the natural and logical dwindle. As Usual e Howard Price Kingsmore did the usu^o hook-up stuff with If Winter Comes whies. Winter came to the Howard Theatre, lanta. He did it unusually well, that’s the difference. He had a fine background painted for log cabin, dressed the display with furs am a elected the prettiest wax dummy in then shop to wear the most expensive coat in the establishment. It was such a pretty display that it played to an audience all day long. Put Up a Front Basing one of its displays for Red Lights on a poster, the Rialto Theatre, Des Moines, showed the figure of the mysterious man at the window on the curtain of which a woman’s outline was shadowed. This was a reproduction rather than a cutout with the shadow thrown by a light at the rear instead of merely painted on. This stunt works well, particularly if a flasher throws the shadow off and on. The general appeal was on the mystery angle with the title in red lights on the banners. A Pathe Release A PATHE SIX-SHEET WAS THE CENTER OF THIS BOOK WINDOW The display is for The Call of the Wild, and the display of the Grosset & Dunlap edition is supplemented by two dog cutouts and a number of scene stills. It makes a very attractive display without using up many of the books. /