The Moving picture world (May 1925-June 1925)

June 13, 1925 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 753 A Universal Release USING A RAFFLES TO SELL THE IRON MAN Charles Triebel, of the Pastime Theatre, Maysville, Ky., perambulated one girl in the morning and put another on the street in the afternoon. Even at that some persons approached her, but did not employ the correct form of salutation. Sold Fashion Show and Showers, Too L. W. Carroll, when he was over in Berlin, N. H., gave a couple of very successful fashion shows, as reported at the time. Now that he is at the Majestic Theatre, Burlington, Vt., he figured he would try it out there. It was not easy. The storekeepers gave him the fishy eye and the emphatic negative, but finally he pumped some sporting blood into the veins of one of the storekeepers and got a grudging assent. Even after that it was not easy to talk the store into certain extra items that Carroll thought best not to mention at the opening interview, but he got what he wanted, and put on a very good .looking show with eight girls. The store was more interested when the free press work began to show in the papers, and when the Sunday before the showing Carroll worked in a photograph of the models, his collaborator began to cheer up a little. He even went into the paper for a double six. Two of the girls were pages and the other six had six changes each, which gave 36 showings. All of the gowns were from stock and the girls were given only what they looked well in and could carry off. The result was that the following day the store sold three dresses, two coats, four hats and many pairs of shoes, and promptly booked a fall showing. The girls were given silver vanity cases, the four pairs of hosiery that each wore during the show, and the opportunity to buy the shoes at half price. They also had a buffet lunch and dance one night after the show and they all want to go into the fall show. They were not the sort of girls you could slip a couple of dollars to. That sort of girl can't wear the dresses. It cost Carroll six sheets of gelatine. Colored Jackie Coloring contests are old, but not stale. Loew's Bijou Theatre, Birmingham, Ala., recently conducted one on Jackie Coogan in The Rag Man, with the assistance of C. D. Haug, Metro-Goldwynner. Six pictures were to be colored as a set, and one of these was printed each day. More than 1,500 children competed, and the publisher of the Post declared it to be the most successful good-will stunt the newspaper had ever handled. The prizes ranged from five Jackie Coogan suits to Jackie Coogan rulers, and a picture of the little star was given each contestant in addition to the 150 odd prizes, of which 100 were single passes. It brought the house about 1,500 of reading space. Used Second Qirl for His Raffle Stunt Employing the Raffles idea for The Iron Man at the Pastime Theatre, Maysville, Ky., Charles Triebel perambulated a girl through the streets in an automobile during the morning hours in a car announcing her as "The Mysterious Margaret Morris." Previous newspaper advertising had announced that if she were located on certain streets between two and nine P. M. and accosted with the formula "Are you the Mysterious Margaret Morris that is to appear at the Pastime in The Iron Man?" a season ticket to the serial would be presented. A girl was put out, but not the same one sent out in the morning. Even at that, several persons spoke to her, but did not use the proper form of address and no tickets were given out. This is the common form of working the stunt, often no Raffles is put out at all. especially where a large prize is offered. We like better, however, the form of stunt in which the prizes are such as to permit some to be won, and we think that had singles to the first showing been the prizes and a few dozen given out the results would have been much more profitable, particularly in launching a serial, where so much depends upon the attendance at the first chapter. Frank J. Miller, of the Modjeska Theatre, Augusta, Ga., hooked every women's wear store in town to the fashion show in The Dressmaker from Paris. Each of the ten stores carried two or more photographs of the style models in the picture, and a large card telling about the display of dresses, adding a few words about the store's own showing. It helped almost as much as a staged fashion show. This Is New Fred S. Meyer, of the Palace Theatre, Hamilton, Ohio, worked a new one on The Dressmaker of Paris. He arranged with a store to display a costume and then offered cash and ticket prizes for the most complete and accurate description of the dress. Of course he worked the offer through the newspaper, to get the free publicity. As the stunt was worked on The Dressmaker of Paris, it was particularly apt, for it interested the women in the costume and the play at the same time. A United Artists Release A STRIKING LOBBY FROM LACEY ON ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL! Frank A. Lacey, of the Majestic Theatre, Portland, Oregon, set Inga's new home in a bower of apple blossoms which extended under the marquise, and with pink and white lights created a splendid atmospheric effect. It helped the play materially.