Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

January 29, 1927 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 329 Paper must Pack a Punch The Poster Needn't Be Highbrow Just Because It's Stuck Up, But It Falls Down If It Lies By M.W.LARMOUR National Theatre, Graham, Texas APER must sell seats satisfyingly. That is what the exhibtior buys it for. Nothing else — nothing less ! Paper that gets people into the theatre has done only half its job: it must pull them with a punch that the picture lives up to, so that no disgruntled patron can accuse the paper of breach of promise. The small town exhibitor must have box office paper. The big fellow, with his art department, can make his own paper, but the little fellow must in most cases use what he can buy, and what he can buy is not always what he can use to best advantage. He must get paper that is interest-c picture it is made for. But, too often, it picture — and how ! From all appearances some paper must be designed this way : the producer’s business office hires a new property man. “We pay fifty a week,” says the Business Manager. “And how much publicity?” asks “props.” “Oh, we can fix that up. You’ll be on the paper and slides anyhow.” So the art department cuts down some on the illustration and the poster has one more name added to the many on it. Now the small town theatregoer does not spend his money to see a picture in which Jake Skinkovitch secured the props. It will pay to see stars and a known supporting cast. It will pay to see stories by a limited few authors. It will pay to see the directorial effort of a very limited list of megaphone vibrators — but the rest of the credits are box office zeros — naughts — holes inside •circles ! You can’t get punch out of props, cos-tumes or carpet cleaners ! But in a lot of cases the producing companies persist in cluttering up the paper with meaningless names, taking away good space that could punch home the appeal of the picture with a flash illustration or enhance the draw of the star by giving more room for that name. Paper Can’t Lie and Stand Up Because the Public Knows Paper must be true to itself and to the picture for which it is the advance agent. It is supposed by the prospective patron -that what he sees heralding the picture gives him some idea of what the picture is to be like. Let’s have comedy paper on a comedy picture, western paper on a western. It happened recently that a bathing girl reatmg. And it ought to advertise the advertises the folks who made the \ illustration was put on paper for a picture that didn’t have a bathing suit in it! That’s just one case of a poster that made the exhibitor out to be a liar when his audience filed out — and there was a rasp in the way they filed ! Why not stick to the picture! We are all prone to shine in reflected glory, but why have a western scene on a poster for a society drama that may have one western sequence, just because westerns happen to be the drag that season? It may get some western fans in — but — when — they — come — out ! The Exhibitor Buys and He Pays In the Odd Game He Plays The small town exhibitor, and the big chap, too, must protect himself by a careful selection — when he can. But too often he will find that none of the paper offered is box office paper, or that it is so repulsive as to tend to drive people away from the box. office. The show business is about the only business where the retailer buys his advertising accessories from the manufacturer instead of being supplied with them free of cost. What, then, are his feelings when, having purchased, he gets paper that has more advertising for the people concerned than for the production itself, or that sends his people out later, dissatisfied? A disgruntled patron can do more harm to future seat sales than a flue epidemic because there are ways to fight flu. Since the exhibitor buys his paper, he ought to get the sort that will convert his investment into seat sales. M. W. Larmour Why not design all paper to give patrons an idea of the sort of story and the stars they will see? Let the paper be attractive and suited to the style and type of picture. One sheet should carry a simple, striking illustration of the picture : too much detail on so small display kills the important punch. A star photo one sheet could be used occasionally. Threes and sixes can, in some instances, carry more detail, but it can be easily overdone. Credit lines are distractions when used to excess here. The one-appeal poster is the most striking. Of course these should be designed to be used as cut-outs if practicable. All paper could now be more effectively used as cutouts if the designers would refrain from letting credits and other type matter run over onto the illustration. Simplicity is to be preferred to extravagance, some “great open spaces” beat cluttered paper — the crowding should be in the theatre, not on the poster! Twenty-fours and window cards should carry a simple illustration ; and, in case only of box office names, the name of star — possibly author or (and) director. Theatres are operated and pictures shown for entertainment — therefore posters should scream entertainment and to do that they must pack a punch. Punch Can’t Be Home Brewed But the Kick Is Needed For fear some poster designer might so far forget his self-sufficiency as to ask, “What is this punch, anyhow?” it might be wise to say that punch doesn’t come out of a keg into which has been stirred an indiscriminate assortment of names and production activities, with a raisin of illustration to give it the kick. Punch in a poster is the power to attract and impress. The patron will pay to see what he thinks he is going to like. The more he is attracted, the more he will pay. If the poster punch is legitimate, backed up by picture performance, the patron will not regret his expenditure and it will be just that much easier to sell him a seat another time. And seat selling is the exhibitor’s existence !