The Moving picture world (September 1923-October 1923)

148 MOVING PICTURE WORLD September 8, 1923 An Educational Release HOW THE STRAND THEATRE, MILWAUKEE, PRODUCED A CHRISTIE A suggestion as to the staging for the new Christie comedies in black face conies from Milwaukee, where a special setting for the screen was built for Roll Along. A negro quartet did their stuff while the comedy was unreeled, replacing the orchestra. Made a Production of Christie Comedy When "Roll Along," one of the new cork comedies by Al Christie, was booked at the Strand Theatre. Milwaukee, Edward J. Weistfeldt, the manager, built a screen setting for the short length and put on four negroes to play and sing during the run of the comedy, using Southren melodies and old-fashioned negro dance music. _ It raised the comedy to the dignity of a real feature and the innovation pleased so well that it probably will be repeated. Comedies do not need to be "played" and the musical interlude did much better. Care should be taken not to let the stage action detract from the screen. The major attention should be focussed upon the comedy. Takes Color Scheme for Vanity Fair Ad. Most newspaper readers know that Mayor Kohler, of Cleveland, has been getting his name in out of town papers by painting all city property with orange with black lettering; possibly taking his cue from the New York elevated trains, which recently raised their business twenty per cent, through .i change in coloring. Naturally Cleveland is talking about it two days, for no town ever wholly approved of any mayor's actions. Capitalizing the idea, Eddie Carrier, Goldwynner, got some turtles, painted them up and launched them in an ornamental pool in the public square. Then he got a piece in the papers about how the Mayor was renting the billboard privileges on the turtles in the park. No advertiser was mentioned, but when about half the city went to see they saw "Vanity Fair, at the Hippodrome," on the back of each of twenty-five yellow shells, and they did about a million dollars worth of talking, pro and con. It's a good stunt, but if Eddie had only picked on the gold fishes he would have had to buy only the black paint. But he didn't think of that. Won on Shape Because he wanted to make a special showing on Down to the Sea in Ships, W. A. Doster, of the Strand Theatre. Montgomery, Ala., set out to get some window cards. And he knew that window cards work best when they are different. He made up seven cut into the shape of a sailboat and he got them into windows where they would have chased him out had he come in with the usual oblong pasteboards. Better than that, people saw his displays who would have passed up "just cards," so he not only got the best locations, but he sold the largest possible number of tickets through those placings. They were a little more trouble, but well worth the additional effort. Used Central Park Getting an advance trailer out of an exploitation stunt was the idea of Lou Brager, of First National. Ashes of Vengeance opens with a ball and a minuet. Brager borrowed the Mall in Central Park for a minute by twelve dancers. The word was passed around to the newspapers and some of them came, which gave publicity to the two-dollar run at the Apollo. The stunt was filmed and shown at the local Loew houses with a title to the effect that Ashes would be along presently. Outside of the political pull required to get the permit to use a public park, the main trouble was to find twelve dancers who could do a minuet without shaking the shimmy. THE NEW M _„ SPOILERS IS I KNOCKOUT! A Goldwyn Release PAINTED TEASERS HELPED THE SPOILERS IN LOS ANGELES The California Theatre turned a portion of its boards over to the Goldwyn special four weeks before the opening, and told the world to wait and see what they should see, when the proper time came. It got the towfl in a receptive meod. Liked It The artistic value of cutting the film to show the chief scene in dramatic action is questionable, at best. It takes from the reality of the picture to show an entirely new set of principals in a situation. But E. J. Weisfeldt, of Saxe s Strand Theatre, Milwaukee, snapped his fingers at art and put on the chief situation in Slander the Woman with members of a stock company which had closed its own run the previous week. He not only drew immediate business, but he brought to his house all the stock company fans, who came for one last look at their favorites, and he could afford to shoot the picture to pieces in such circumstances. It is about the only excuse, but it is a good one. Still Working Old friends are true ones. W. R. Bedell, of the Rialto Theatre, Atlanta, worked the savings bank hook-up on Gimme and found it in full running order. Ten books each with a one dollar initial deposit written in. were used as awards, and the bank paid half the advertising costs, too. Of course the money had to stay on deposit for a stated pediod of months, long enough to let the holder get the depositing habit.