The Moving picture world (November 1925-December 1925)

674 MOV I N G PICTU RE W O RLD December 19, 1925 Non-committal Cut is not Real Ad Attractor jam soft paper against tj'pe with gummy ink and still get a result that will make the space look bright and inviting. The line just below the signature hooks The Desert Flower to Sally and does it with a phrase that suggests the locale of the current story. "Hot dog, it's Sally" would be more up to date, but it would not have the color of "Hot taniale," for tamales are standard food where The Desert Flower thrives. There is a somewhat loose connection between the end of this line and the continuation just above the star name. On the other hand the second bank reads well if taken by itself. "Moore" in the star name looks like more poor printing but it really is another case of poor hand lettering, with a white hairline through each letter that serves to mess it up without making it look distinctive. In the e-xample on Beggar on Horseback the "There isn't a horse" copy leads off with a frank explanation of just what it is in the lower panel. This carries less white space than the average, but that is because there is more to be said. The LAST TIMES TODAY Thef isift m hoist in itt Thtte isn't i b*ggar in iff There isn't « fluiVt motnent i If, a Cyclonic Comedy Classic HoRs^cK This ia one ot the photopl»y» criliM refer lo ai different. It is a delicately conceived satire with broad comedy. It relieves the monotony of sterotyped pictures and with its rcfreihin{ humor. w« believe, is the "Bomething different" you've been looking for. with its dancing brides. Most managers seem to feel that they must use the three column layout supplied by First National. We think that with this pair of smaller cuts a better display is achieved at less than half the cost. One of the best displays is that for Adventure, and here the cut helps A Paramount Release NOTE THE CIRCLE picture requires explanation if the average spectator is to view it in the proper frame of mind, and so the space fills up, though it is by no means overcrowded. The cut does not get over. Until you have seen the play, you do not realize that it really is a huge necktie and not a curtain or something, so the effect aimed at is lost, though that scarcely is Planck's fault. Here the circle reverse makes its first appearance in the announcement of the Shenandoah pictures. In all of these spaces you will note that there is a hairline rule around the space. This is done without regard for how the advertisement lies in the page. If it rests against column rules or cutoffs there is still a two point space of white outside the hairline to hold it from contact. For The Marriage Whirl two press book cuts are used, and these are put into the space with good judgment. The large type for the date seems to be characteristic of the first day display. On a two day run less noise is made about the playing days, but always the change of program is marked by large type to call attention to the change. The selling talk is rather scant, but it gets over the idea, and that is all that is necessary. The cut title puts an edge to the sales talk A First Xational Release TWO GOOD CUTS materially. In this Planck makes his first use of the double panel effect, with the inner rules cut to let the illustration through. This not only saves space, but it gives a better effect than would have resulted from the use of a panel large enough to contain the entire cut. There is a saving of an inch and a half in space and a material gain in effect. Even where an extra composition charge is made for cutting the rule, the effect is worth the additional cost. There is a good play-up for the shorts and the single vaudeville act and the general impression of a good show is created through the layout of the type as much as from the good cut. For The Ten Commandments he stressed the prices as the picture was roadshowed last season. For the opening day he does not depart from the standard three sixes and for the follow he employs a two six and a halfs. We think that in the opening day space (on the right), he is in error comment such as "The Miracle of tlie Screen" and "Unforgettable in Theme." That space might better have been given to a bold display of the prices in place of the modest six point over Moses' head. We think these the least effective of the lot, for he does not quite convey the suggestion of bigness. This has nothing to do with the size of the ad. It's in the talk. In this pair of displays are seen the two styles of drop-in circles already alluded to and which now are the permanent trademarks of the house. Our personal preference is for the one on the right, even if it does slant the name down a diagonal. Theoretically this is not as good form as the straight line, but the even size of the lettering offsets the slant. Both, however, are good. Taken by and large we don't believe that Mr. Planck stands much in need of advice, and we are making this rather full use of cuts because we think that the gradual improvement in style to be noted will interest many others. JACK LONDON S Our Gang in "The LoveBug" Coming— Al Lavine's Band— Soon A Paramount Release SELLING ADVENTURE when he makes allusion to the World War. Most persons know that there is no reference to the war in the story, but not all will stop to recall the fact and this might suggest another war story. What he aimed at was a suggestion of a thought-forming picture, but he does not quite get it over. On the second day he uses four lines of Teacup Tells No Broadway Tale This cut on The Lights of Old Broadway from Loew's Palace Theatre, Washington, D. C, is one of the poorest this house has made in some time. It's not very strong, and MARION D/MES "LIGHTS OF OLD BROApWAY" eoHiD Ilea niRR cvmn nun ivaral wiMa~.«coi« k. imiuu rho*» "rre Ih. dm>» — "fi<n (trrct • country Ikiw' Sh« wu • du»r tt Tony Putor'i and h« vaa oat of N«» Y&rk'. "4Ki ' but >j •hat <fld Otpid carr f r ^s * vhlTlwind of )oy • A Metro-Goldwyn Release OVER THE TEACUP may sink into the cut in reproduction, so to save your eyes, it's a picture of Marion Davics holding a teacup. Just that. There is an attractive title, and some clever talk, with a silhouette of an old fashioned carriage with a suggestion of a rail fence. That all helps to sell, because you can scarcely visualize Broadway, even in the early days, with a rail fence. But what Marion Davies drinking tea has to offer in the way of entetrtainment is something you cannot quite understand. There must have been something in the stills that was better than this. It's strictly a non-seller, and we think that no cut at all would have been better than this, for no cut would at least not have suggested a tea drinking story. The Loew Washington houses hit so high an average that they are entitled to a slip now and then, but when they take a tumble it is all the more noticeable because of the general excellence of their work.