The Moving picture world (August 1921)

I MOVING PICTURE WORLD • August 6,' 1921 Selling the Picture to the^Public YOU GET THREE GUESSES AS TO WHAT THESE WOMEN WILL DO They rode around on the float of the Ansonia Theatre, Butte, to advertise the Asso- ciated Producers' "What Women Will Do," and they made a hit with a herd of Elks in onvention assembled in Butte, Mont. A lot of Elks found out! Got Elks Guessing What Women Will Do Butte, Mont., went after business when the Elks held their state convention in the mining city. The Ansonia put out a truck to adver- tise Harold Lloyd and the Associated Pro- ducers' "What Women Will Do." There does not seem to be any especial char- acter to the tableau, but the Elks didn't care much about that. They looked at the two girls in bathing suits, chewed over the title a bit and decided they would go and see what women did at the Ansonia. It made a tidy business at comparatively small cost and brought in money at a time when most exhibitors declare that there is no business to be made. Only the other day we watched half a dozen theatres marking time with the streets packed with people who had nowhere in especial to go. Most conventions bring a few delegates and a lot of plain members who are out for a good time. Give them the right sort of show and the crowd will come in if only to get a place to sit down for awhile. Tin Cans Again Bill Hartwell, of the Empress, Wichita Falls, Texas, recently worked the tin can matinee in conjunction with the Board of Health, four tin cans being the minimum admission. It brought in 600 cans and a lot of beneficial press com- ment. Bill didn't care about the cans, but he surely did appreciate the press notices. It helped business. People went to the shows to express their approval of the public spirit the house had shown. They didn't even put it to themselves in just that way, but that is what it really amounted to. Made Truck Parade Replace Campaign Denver is one "key city" without a "Too Much Speed" auto reform campaign. They had one recently and did not care for another so soon, so Leslie F. Whelan, the Paramounteer, was up against it for a moment, but he found a way out. He borrowed a half dozen assorted size trucks, bannered them, got a three day permit for a parade from the police department, and all he had to do then was to lay out a route that would cover as much of Denver as possi- ble, and Whelan only overlooked the alleys. It just goes to show that if the right man cannot do something, he can do something else, but he can always do something—if you get what we mean. Coming Baby Contest Gets Quick Interest F. Feldman, of the Stratford, (Conn.), thea- tre, and Albert S. Nathan, New Haven Para- mounteer, have hit upon an interest getting plan that promises to serve as an exploit for several weeks to come. It's nothing less than the old style baby con- test with two physicians and a nurse for judges and with motion pictures to be made of the winner. Announcement is made in the papers, with the statement that full details will be found on the screen, so that gets the motors coming regularly, and though the contest is still in its formative stage, it has already had a highly beneficial effect on the business. There will be three classes, babies from 2 to 13 months, from 13 to 24 months and from 25 to 36 months, which sounds better than to state it in years, and in addition to the class prizes were will be other prizes for the best decorated carriage. The babies will be numbered instead of named during the judging, to ensure fairness. Just to make it seem real there is an entrance fee of one dollar for each youngster, which does not appear to have hurt the popularity of the scheme, though we think it would be bitter to drop the entrance fee even though mothers will gladly pay the small sum for a physician's valuation of her child. The Time to Hustle The time to hustle is when business is poor. Don't persuade yourself into the belief that it's no use trying to get a crowd in hot weather. There is some use trying and you can get a crowd: Last night we saw a 2500 seat house practically full. It was the end of a blister- ingly hot day with the humidity near the point of saturation, and about seven o'clock it started in to rain with the evident intention of keeping it up, yet people came out and the actual sale was more than 3,000 seats on the night show; nothing like what it would have been in the middle of winter, but a lot better than a 700 crowd. * SOME ONE BEAT HIM TO A SAFETY CAMPAIGN, SO LESLIE WHELAN MADE IT A TRUCK PARADE They had just had a rail stirup in Denver over the speed laws, and it was too late to hook to that and too soon to start another, so the Denver Paramounteer got the loan of six big trucks, gave them a layout of banners, got a three-day police permit to parade, and "Too Much Speed" got all the advertising it needed without the excessive use of the red hands