The Moving picture world (July 1924-August 1924)

392 MOVING PICTURE WORLD August 2, 1924 A Metro-Goldwyn Release AN EFFECTIVE SNOW LOBBY ON A BOY OF FLANDERS. Thi» was planned by E. D. Turner, of the Imperial Theatre, Asheville, N. C, following a suggestion by Lem Stewart, of the Paramount Theatres Department. Powdered with flour and mica snow and lighted in blue, this drew a big hot weather business. Cooling Jackie Is Help to a Feature Lem Stewart has bettered the plan book by suggesting that the Southern Enterprises managers play up the snow stuff in A Boy of Flanders, and reports show that even with a "kid" picture the snow lobby helps to sell tickets in hot weather. The cut shows a rather poor photograph of an excellent display planned by E. D. Turner, of the Imperial Theatre, Asheville, N. C. Mr. Turner used to hold his displays to the rear of the lobby, but for Jackie he got right down to the sidewalk line. The box office is surrounded by a windmill with revolving sails moved by a motor. A hole is cut for the ticket window, and a cutout is placed in front. On either side are Dutch houses with thatched roofs. The wagon and milk can are real. The entire display is powdered with flour and mica for a snow effect and lighted in blue. All of the lumber is weather beaten stuff, second-hand material, which not only cuts purchase costs but saves painting and is much more realistic. The display proved a real winner from the box office angle. Made Good Display At Cost of Paint Vitagraph's Ninety and Nine was made long before Colleen Moore attained to stardom, but J. H. McClaughlin remembered that she was in the cast and made her the star when he came to play the picture at the Franklin Theatre, Tampa, Fla., and he put the picture over with a lobby display costing less than one dollar. Two years ago a stock company had made a production of Within the Law, and the cell door gratings had been put in the property room after the run. These were dug out, repainted, and set in place with two signs, one reading "To street" and the other "To trains" to mark the entrance and exit. The doorman was put into a borrowed railroad conductor's uniform to give local color and there was a "time table" of the showing times. The day before the photograph was made a wind storm came up and blew it into the infinite somewhere. The large sign is also repainted, and paint represents the entire outlay for a decidedly good front. It just goes to show what a handy thing a property room is if you keep it so you can find things in it. Cleaned Up Howard Price Kingsmore did even better than he expected with his color-this-picture idea for Wanderer of the Wasteland. Business shot away up above the summer average. It was not so much the idea as the ability of the idea to get over the Technicolor idea. Miniature Room in Enchanted Cottage Instead of using the entire Enchanted Cottage, C. B. Stiff, of the Tivoli Theatre, Chattanooga, Tenn., used only one room. It worked as well as an entire house. He set in the lobby a shadow box into which a vine-dressed window was cut. A card overhead announced Barthelmess and May McAvoy in the play. .1 First National Release MR. STIFF'S ROOM The interior was brilliantly lighted to di»ilose a completely furnished miniature room with a bed, chair, dressing table, dresserobe and other furnishings. A doll in negligee sat on the bed with one tiny slipper and stocking on the floor and the outer clothing on the back of the chair. The completeness of the display made a charming effect and halted both men and women. Mr. Stiff used another window for The Bedroom Window. This time he took a fullsized window frame and permitted a local store to dress it with shades and curtains in return for a credit card. The two displays were not sufficiently similar to conflict, though they sound pretty much alike in print. A Mtar/raph Release THIS CLEVER LOBBY COST LESS THAN ONE OLLAR. Of course, J. H. McClaughlin, of the Franklin Theatre, Tampa, Fla., had the material on hand, but feeding out of the property room let him sell the story for a bargain counter price and run up the receipts without much subtraction.