The Moving picture world (October 1922)

488 MOVING PICTURE WORLD October 7, 1922 Police Reserves to Handle Stunt Crowd It was necessary to clear a section oi Broadway with mounted police reserves when the Fox press agents announced that "Monte Cristo" would give away real money to advertise the performance of the play at the Forty-fourth Street theatre. The "money" was in the form of tokens which, when countersigned by an impersonator of the hero, could be cashed at the box office. These tokens were placed around the street in front of the theatre and long be- fore the announced hour the street was so crowded that vehicular traffic had to be diverted and the police had difficulty in keeping pedestrian lanes open. The stunt brought at least a quarter of a column in every New York paper. This is an excellent record for New York. You will find the stunt described on Page 217 of Picture Theatre Advertising. Reward Circular A. G. Stolte, of the Des Moines Theatre, offered $1,000 reward for the apprehension of the pearl smugglers sailing with "Hurri- cane's Gal" on the Tahiti Belle, further information to be had from the Des Moines Theatre. It's not a new idea, but it was the first time Stolte had used it and it worked well for him. A First National Release TWO MEN AND A GOAT FOR "HURRICANE'S GAL" J. K. Johnson, of the Rialto Theatre, Omaha, persuaded two of the American Legion Boys to make up as the Chinaman and Hurricane's Gal in the play of that name, as already recorded. This shows how the stunt looked to the man who hap- pened to be on the streets. Jazzed Paramountown A. L. Snell, of the Imperial theatre, Gads- den, Ala., knows a good thing when he sees it, and he knew that the Paramountown short reel would help all of the Paramount pictures he would play through the season, so he worked harder on this short subject than he generally does for a feature. He told everyone he knew of the coming of the subject and he persuaded Mrs. Snell to tell all of her women friends, and Master Snell told all the kids. This was all done in the three weeVs prior to the showing. For the run he dressed his boy in women's clothes and had him sketch the Paramount stars shown in the reel, working on a trestle above the lobby. When a picture was drawn the name of the star would be written in backward. The likenesses were so good that most of the stars were recog- nized before they were labeled. He was careful not to have the boy work too long at one time, for fear the crowd would be held outside instead of go- ing into the house, so after each picture the youngster came off his perch and let the crowd disperse, then climbed back to col- lect a new crowd. The cash outlay was only $2, but there was an immediate return in sold tickets and a drive on Paramounts that will last well into the season. Home Brewed Devils Oscar White, of the Rex theatre, Sumter, S. C., seldom gets a picture pre-release, but he did get "While Satan Sleeps" so far ahead that there was no paper available for the lobby. To correct this lack he had four devil's heads painted, two for the one sheet frames and two larger ones for cutout stands, and he did not have to worry about the paper. The exchange loaned him the picture for A First Natiorml Release AN UNUSUALLY ELABORATE DISPLAY ON "THE SILENT CAL-L" This was planned by A. R. Lynch, of the Lyric Theatre, Jackson, Tenn. The entire lobby is masked in with greenery and the display is carried out to the sidewalk. The cage on the right contains a police dog with the warning that it is dangerous to pet the animal. an advance showing to ministers and bet- terment organizations and their personal endorsements were so strong than he took extra advertising space to get them all in the paper. The entire campaign cost him only an additional $10.60 and the business was sixty per cent, above the average. He slightly an- ticipated the September campaign, but he got the same results, and got it early. Crossroads Angles The man who wanted a job "with a uniform" was used by the Cozy Theatre, Topaka, Kans., for "The Crossroads of New York." They made him a teaser ballyhoo man, and he carried a telescope to help him look for the job. When the play opened, he went around with a sign telling that he had the job and people could find out how he got it by visiting the Cozy. Several dozen crossroad signs were made up of one inch stuff with compo board arms and scattered through the residential dis- tricts, and a store got up a display of styles "direct from the 'Crossroads of New York.'" It all had a helpful effect upon the busi- ness. Built Up on Jackie Most managers have used the barrel or garbage can for Jackie Coogan in "Trouble," but they have used just one, or at the best, one of each. A. R. Lynch, of the Southern Enterprises, built the idea up to its proper dimensions by dressing his lobby with a pile of barrels and boxes with the familiar cutout. It .gave many times the effect and sold Jackie to a larger percentage of possible patrons—and you can sell almost all of your patrons if you advertise young Mr. Coogan properly. Caught the Cops A stunt worked by A. L. Snell, of the Imperial theatre, Gadsden, Ala., for "I Am the Law" will also serve for "In the Name of the Law" in any fairly small place. He photographed the entire police force in individual pictures and pasted these to cards with "Who am I?" at the top and "I Am the Law". These cards were placed in shop windows and attracted considerable attention until the rest of the advertising came along.