The Moving picture world (May 1922)

May 13, 1922 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 187 Selling^ the Picture to the^Public Fooled the Patrons Playing up only half the title put over "Iron to Gold" at the Queen Theatre, Abilene, Texas. R. P. Whitfield borrowed all of the gold bags the bank would let him have and stuffed these with paper or iron washers, according to their use. The light bags were hung from the marquise and the heavy ones rested on the lobby. Then he borrowd an iron express safe and filled this with gilded rocks and used a card telling where the golden nuggets were found. They were guarded by a man with a sawed off shotgun to suggest they really had some value. A few of the specie bags were apparently dropped on the sidewalk in front of the theatre, but if anyone stopped to pick one up, a watchful usher would yank the string to which the bag was attached. The only trouble with this stunt was that it held the attenion of so large a gallery that most persons were warned, but it gave life to the front, and business went up. A Paravwuiit Release COMBINING THE LOBBY STUNT WITH THE TELEPHONE IDEA J. P. Harrison, of the Hippodrome, Waco, Texas, put a live alligator into a display just inside the lobby of the chief hotel and then installed a telephone girl to call up numbers and tell them about "Fool's Paradise" with the loud pedal on Put Telephone Girl in the Hotel Lobby Adapting the St. Louis telephone stunt to a new idea, J. P. Harrison, of the Hippodrome Theatre, Waco, Texas, put his girl into the lobby of the St. Charles Hotel, placing the display just inside the main entrance doors where even the timid could come and look in. A sign urged you to phone 919 for information about "Fool's Paradise," and when no one was calling, the girl used the wire to call up a selected list. This gave a ballyhoo patter without the crudeness of a straight talk, and people gave greater attention to the conversation directed at another than they would have given direct speech. A fence was built up and the girl shared the space with a fairly large live alligator. A stuffed alligator about eight feet long was worked up with a cutout and a poster backing for a lobby display, and this proved to be a strong attraction. Because the Brazos river was over its banks, Mr. Harrison built a light punt, lettered it for the production and hired a negro to perambulate the flooded district. As thousands of persons came to see the flood, the odd perambulator played to a huge audience. The punt was beaverboard and light enough to be swung from the wearer's shoulders, much the same as the familiar basket horses. It gave the effect of a man paddling about until he hit shallow water where his legs showed beneath the bottom of the boat. Intensive driving kept business well above normal in spite of the counter attraction of the flood. bo:irds to suggest a pay shanty on a construction lot, and decorated with such signs as "No more help needed" and "Don't loaf here." Chaplin does not need much advertisement, but the novelty helped to emphasize the fact that Chaplin was to be seen at the theatre. Burns also got co-operation in the newspapers on the "Pay Day" angle, similar to the banking page already referred to. Never compare the bad points of your competitor's theatre with the good points of your ozvn. If you do you're in wrong, and only help to advertise the other felloiv. — 0. T. Taylor. Autographed Baseballs Sell "Penrod" to Players Wesley Barry must have discovered the forty-eight hour day instead of the fortyfour hour week. While he is playing a string of personal appearances all over the country he still finds time to autograph baseballs and photographs and things. Autographed baseballs were the premiums with baseball suits purchased at a sporting goods store while "Penrod" was being run at the Montauk Theatre, Passaic, N. J. It gave a lot of push to a seasonable sale, and also gave the theatre a lot of free advertisement, for every kid who flattened his nose against the glass to look at the balls and bats had the price of a ticket to "Penrod," even though he could not afford a suit. The regular Penrod suits were the strong card in Paterson, and a suit was donated by the makers to be given the most freckled boy. He got it twice ; once for the newspaper cameras and again in the Regent Theatre, which was the official presentation. The stunt was sponsored by a local paper and a boy's work official was the official freckle counter. Charlie as Paymaster Frank Burns, of the Orlando Southern Enterprises, made a cutout of Chaplin from the three sheet and stood him alongside the box office. The latter was boxed in with rough A First National Release BABE RUTH IS NOT THE ONLY BALL AUTOGRAPHER Wesley Barry knows a thing or two about that indoor sport, and when "Penrod" was played at the Montauk Theatre, Passaic, N. J., a sporting goods store gave an autographed baseball with each baseball suit purchased during the run of the play