The Moving picture world (November 1921)

December 24, 1921 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 969 Selling the Picture to the&Public Built His Own Castle for ''Three Musketeers" C. B. Grimes, of the Rialto Theatre, Columbus., Ga., built a castle especially for the run of "The Three Musketeers," cutting out entrance and exit doors and using these pieces in place of the usual three-sheet boards at either side, mounting stills instead of posters. In the centre he used the group from one of the 24-sheets pasted directly against the wall, flanking the cutout with potted plants. There was plenty of room for the patrons, and the unusual display had a marked effect in persuading the passersby that this Fairbanks' production was something out of the ordinary. Considering capacity and price, this was one of the most successful engagements the film has played in Southern Enterprises territory, and the castle is largely responsible. In the evening all seats were reserved and but two performances were given each day so that there would be no need to race the picture. Staged a Parade for Only Eleven Passes Some months ago the sectional banner parade was popular with the Paramounteers and then it dropped for a while. Joseph Schwartzwolder, of the Universal Theatre, Auburn, N. Y., revived the idea recently for "Experience," hiring eleven boys for a pass apiece to parade the streets with the cards spelling out the title and giving the details. Made a Parade He sent them in single file through the principal streets with instructions to pose in company front whenever there was an opportunity to do so, and to make certain that he got reliable boys, he made a deal with a Boy Scout Patrol and the scoutmaster went along to take command. When you consider the sign you can figure that the boys got a lot of experience, and they saw the picture free, to boot. It was the star stunt used to hold up business for the four-day run. NO HOUSING PROBLEM BOTHERED THE MUSKETEERS C. B. Grimes, of the Rialto Theatre, Columbus, Ga., built a French castle for them, and put a cutout from the United Artists' 24-sheet in front. The side boards are made from the sections cut out of the doors, so the material was used Roses for Chaney "The Night Rose" seems to have been a puzzler to most managers, and a majority of them worked upon the title rather than upon the story of the play. O. C. Lam, of the Elite Theatre, Rome, Ga., planned a lobby display of a red rose four feet in diameter bedded in moss on the lobby floor and surrounded by a white picket fence two feet high and 5 by 9 feet. At night a spot was trained upon the rose, and it showed up very effectively. The exploitation cost only about $5 and brought in five times as much. Made His Big Drive on a Society Weekly When the Newman Theatre, Kansas City, put on "After the Show," it made a drive on the local magazine weekly, the Independent, and got after the "society crowd" with hook-ins. The Muehlback hotel, for instance, cut its old time copy to read "Before or After the Show' visit Hotel Muehlbach" and other advertisers came in along similar lines. The result was that the socially elect decided that they wanted to see the Paramount picture, and they all went, and where society goes, the crowd is apt to follow, so getting hold of a handful of people through a special campaign sold the idea to everyone. The society angle is one too often overlooked by managers. They go after the crowd, not realizing that the crowd will follow the leaders, and where the class of the attraction will warrant, the appeal through the social publication will often bring more good than the straight newspaper campaign ; though this last is not to be neglected. It is a long day since S. Barret McCormick built up a Denver clientele through the society pages of the daily pages, but little advance has been made since that time. STUNT COST AS MANY PASSES AS THERE WERE BOYS Joseph Schwartz-voider, of the Universal Theatre, Auburn, N. Y ., hired eleven Boy Scouts with a pass apiece and got an impromptu parade that helped business considerably at a very small cost. They marched single Ale Metzger Publicity Takes New Angles E. Metzger, of the Strand Theatre, Creston, la., has been noted for the cheapness of his exploitation stunts. He could do more with two dollars than most men could with twenty. It was almost a shock to find that recently he offered a Shetland pony to the kid who could most successfully impersonate Chaplin in "The Kid." Unless Metzger found the horse, he certainly has gone to the other extreme, for a pony is a pretty rich prize when contrasted with the usual ticket offers. We can scarcely believe that it is Metzger, but he sends in pictures of the pony and the winner, and it is a real pony, with four legs that eats oats and acts just like a horse. There must be a catch somewhere.