The Moving picture world (January 1923-February 1923)

Januan 27, 1923 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 351 Too Much Picture Has Moral Effect Here is an example of taking more space than is needed for an advertisement to gain the moral cfTect of bigness. It is from the Cahfornia Theatre, Los Angeles, for "The Sin Flood." It is si.x fulls, which is a great deal more than is required to tell all about the picture, as the agent very clearly knows, but he knows, too, that a large A Goldivyn Release A PICTORIAL DISPLAY space now and then has a distinct value of its own. It impresses the reader with a sense of bigness, and to get this value, a larger investment in space is made. There is nothing more to be said about the release than is said in that top panel, so the remainder is given over to the drawing, which in this case is more effective than words in getting over the sale. It is not a good style of work for general use, but it gets additional attention for a big picture when it is felt that the larger picture needs this advantage. In daily use this would be a dead waste of three fourths of the space. Once it is effective. It makes the splash on a one time, but once it becomes usual it merely represents a dead loss. —P. T. A.— Makes Questionnaire Give Modem Touch One of the reasons for the success of "To Have and to Hold" in Southern Enterprises territory has been the set of eight questions framed by Lem Stewart with an intent to link the play of the past with the questions of the present. You read the questions with thg idea that they refer to a modern play and then get the title with the suggestion that the period does not matter since the problems are the same. The display reproduced is from Major I. C. Holloway, of the Rialto Theatre, Columbus, Ga, The same display was in other sections and by most managers the same result was nhtanud. Save for the matter of face, which naturally differs in different offices, the advertisements look much the same, and Oscar White, of the Re.x Theatre, Sumter, S. C, is almost a duplicate of that shown here except that he drops an additional two inches to get more display for the house announcement, and the addition of the star names, which Major Holloway Questions of Today 1.^ h il till' holcinn duly of evijry mini lo man-y ! 'J. Do YOU a(l/iiire tlio^. wlio go tliro\ii;li lite on soft wc^rda and polished manners, or those who tight with silence, strenjrlh, eOurage and endurance? Will those' who come alter us look curiously into the lineage n£ those whose days were of shimmy and jazz ? 4. ]Jo voii like romantic, fighting red-bloodeil men .^ Would yon intrust yourself to the man whoso Irtission had protected you from tragedy and then chuo.se to be his wife iu name only? G. Do you enjoy passion, satire, adventure, grief, romance— artistically interwoven into a story ol' adventure? 7. Do you like a ptiotoplay— the art of love m.iking. old but ever tew? 8. Do you tdinire the man who daves a hundred deaths to win you? THEN YOU'LL ENJOY TO HAVE and To HOLD with A Paramount Picture from the noyel by Mary Johnston Directed by George Fitzmaurice rhii gre.t picture wiU ommence ne»l Tliursd«y at \ht Kulto the»tr5 •nd it happens to b« ■ pioture you just M.ny were sorry Ihey didn't see "Tne Connectieut Y.n«ee. iou will be sorry if you don't see TO RAVE AND TO HOLD A Paramount Release THE QUESTIONNAIRE omits, while playing up the producer. We think that Betty Compson can sell more tickets than (ieorge Fitzmaurice. The chief difficulty with costume plays is to overcome the prejudice against "old stuff" or as one woman put it in Lem's hearing, "ploys of the vintage of 1492." This prejudice seems to be abating, judging from the support accorded many of these productions this season, but it still pays to give the modern slant to the plays of yesterday, and Lem has done this very cleverly in the example shown. —P. T. A.~ Swapped Major I. C. Holloway, of the Riaito Theatre, Columbus, Ga., gave most of his advertisement one day to the Red Cross Membership drive in return for the efforts of the local chapter to put over "Broadway Rose" for him. They made a house to house canvass for the drive and at each call mentioned the picture at the Rialto. Of his regular stuff Major Holloway says the best bet was the exceptionally good set of stills, which he displayed in the lobby vvell in advance. This apparently sold more tickets than anything else, for persons were heard to say to each other, "iX^e must see that," as they stood in front of the special frames. —p. T. A.— For Nice People Using the sectional puzzle idea, the Strand Theatre, Ottumwa, la., chops a stock cut into five sections and uses them in a display with the announcement, "Here is one of the nice people. Who is he?" It was not used in the house advertising, but was laid off to a clothing company, which paid for the space in return for tickets for prizes. Only twenty-five tickets were required to obtain a two-eight without other cost, and at the same time a progressive merchant was glad to be given something to get real attention for his advertising. That's the beauty of these co-operative stunts. Both house and merchant profit. Full Page to Sell 'East Is West'' Best Using the plan book cut on "East is West," the Criterion Theatre, Macon, Ga., took a full page to put over Constance Talmadge in "East is West," and probably found that it pays now and then to bounce the full page when material is available. This same cut is used in varying sizes and seems to have developed into one of the most useful cuts the First National has ever put out. There is an exceptional chance for a colorful scene r/ie itir will see few pictures as deep, as fu// of Ihrall and hvfflor The glillenng triumph of Consfance Talmadge's career A First Nttlioiial Release MING IN A FULL PAGE in the love boat idea, but this cut has something more than a good still to back it up. There is good composition and a nice distribution of the color values. It is not all black on one side and too white on the other. It has plenty of color, plenty of detail, and plenty of interest. It is a little short for the page, so the bottom lines were added to fill. We are wondering how many persons will thin': that "thrill" is meant. The former is a perfectly "thrill" is meant. The former is a perfectly good word and is just what the management was trying to convey, but it is not in general use. But if they think it is thrill, it still has sense and still carries an appeal. —P. T. A — A Short Sales Talk Does Heavy Selling Tom Reed writes that Roy Miller and not hitiiself should be given the credit for the new layout for the advertisements of the California Theatre, Los Angeles, the art work being done by Hubbard G. Robinson. We are very glad to be able to place the credit where it belongs, for the Califortiia made a complete change in a shorter time than any other house we have been watching, and Mr. Miller deserves credit for having done the worx. The correction comes in with a display for "Hungry Hearts," which takes 110 lines by five and gives a good display and a heavy sale to "Hungry Hearts." The title in connection with the figure does the attention getting, and up in the corner is an apology for inability to properly classify the story, which is in a class by itself, after which Mr. Miller adds that "It is a living, throbbing, appealing page from life itself," which is about as good a classification as he needs. The device of a confession