Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

MOVING PICTURE WORLD 291 January 22, 1927 Here’s Another Good Single From the West These Two Displays Offer Big Contrast Here are two spaces from the Pantheon theatre. Toledo, which offers a nice study in contrast. Practically they are the same size, though the lower is augmented by top and bottom reverse lines. Discarding these, the measurements are virtually the same. ■ VlCTJ.Xt. &VTIMUAY. OLIObhJl Scintilla' in’ Syncopatin’ CORK GRIFFITH,., ‘Systsopafing Sue’^/ > three HARRY LANGDON DAYS I in "THE STRONG MAN" • Ms SnappM /i) Jts Jazzy/.? Its Peppi//rf DANTHEOIIj Wr/if bh pirru/irs nr mwah miiisT%A Everything Will Be Hotsy-Totsy When Corinne Comes to Town!! CORINNE GRIFFITH “Syncopating Sue” r HARRy' LANGDON 7 ■ Stint Matin/' StincopatinA Sensation' TWO TOLDEO DISPLAYS In the upper display the star gets by far the better display, as does the title, but in the lower the selling lines have the advantage over the upper space. But had the selling lines on the lower been used with the star and title on the lower, there would have been less room for the four lines of small sales talk. These lines are contrasting, for the upper is set in a small bold face while the lower is in italic. The italic is much more legible, though it is a little too much condensed. Three lines, with less copy, probably would have been better. There is so much better display to the star in the upper space that it should have been used in both spaces, even though it might have crowded the cut a little in the lower. The display value lies not only in the larger letter used, but in the fact that it carries the name on a single line. The eye takes it in as a whole, and does not first read the "Griffith” and then travel back to the upper line for the “Corinne.” It is always an advantage to use both names on the same line, and between this fact and the more conspicuous type, the upper display has about three times the value of the lower. It would not have hurt the space, in either instance, to have cropped the cut on the right to let it rest solidly on the border rule. An inch could have been taken from the lower and almost as much from the upper without detracting from the display value, and this space could have been used to widen the display lines. Both displays are good, but the upper is much better than the lower as a sales agent though almost an inch shorter. Does Most Selling With a Character Part Reverse Has Big Display Value One of the best sellers on Stella Dallas seems to have been the extravagant costume worn by Stella at the resort when she first comes to realize that she is a handicap to her little daughter. It has been very generally used, and now forms the basis of a well arranged space from Loew’s Columbia theatre, Washington, D. C. Here it is a three sevens, a fairly modest space, but amply large enough to get the picture over and larger than the usual Loew Washington spaces. The Washington management does as much in a small space as could be done with quarter pages, and saves a lot of the boss’s money in the process. It looks like an easy make-up and it is, but it was not just thrown together. It was studied out, and that is why Washington can click with half the space some towns seem to need. AN INDUSTRIOUS CUT In the first place you will note that the sales matter lies between two cuts. On the one hand is a pair of young people and on the other this monstrously overdressed woman. They seem to have nothing in common, so you wonder at the connection, if you have not read the story. The kick line, “The year’s greatest story,” lies outside of the book frame, which encloses the selling talk, and so it gets a far greater attention value than had it been taken inside. \\ ithin the frame there is just one large line, the title, and with eight point Roman above and below the 36 point letter has the value of a six line letter fighting through a lot of other boldface. The players are carried in ten point bold so removed from the title that there is no confliction, and the result is a space that pleases the eye and encourages reading. You’ll generally find that when a space is so simple that it looks as though it had just been set, it gives that effect merely because so much time has been spent in getting it just right. Of course now and then such a space just happens. In Washington the management sees to it that it happens. Start a scrap book and have ideas when you need them. This 70 line single from the California theatre, San Francisco, derives much of its strength from the reverse cut. The title does not come through as well as it might, but the odd cut gets attention that will lead to reading, and below the type sells the stars. ANOTHER GOOD SINGLE The drawing is about 80 per cent of the appeal, for it gets attention where type might fail, and it is essential to get attention quickly for a single. This seems to be taken from an original and not the plan book, but if there is enough demand, we believe that companies will supply strong mats for singles. The trouble is that most houses using only singles do not use cuts, so there is not enough of a demand to create a supply. Baltimore Space Sells Sports Idea The best thing about this three nines from the Rivoli theatre, Baltimore, is the cut. You have the girl and the game, and that’s all there is to the story. Seven more cuts would have carried no more appeal . If you like this sort of story; and audiences appear to have liked a lot of stories of this type through the fall season, you have it all in a two column cut in a three column space. There is some selling talk to the left, and