Moving Picture World (Nov - Dec 1918)

576 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD November 2, 1918 BALLYHOOING LIBERTY BOND SALE Men and Women of Speaking Stage Have Nothing On Those from Screen in Coaxing Out the Dollars — Touchin' On Work of Those Pals Doug, Bill and Bill THE talky" actors didn't have any the better of it over the "movie" actors, when it came to ballyhooing for the Fourth Liberty Loan in New York. What with those good pals, Douglas Fairbanks. William S. Hart and William Farnum to hold up the moving picture side of the contest, the formidable array of talent and reputation contributed by the Lambs' Club and the Professional Woman's League failed to overshadow the good work of the screen stars and the eagerness of the public to see and to hear them. There was glory enough for all, however. Francis Wilson. Willie Collier, Blanche Bates and the truly wonderful Ray Cox all helped at the Liberty Theatre in front of the Public Library to put over the Loan, and they welcomed the speakers from the silent stage most cordially. Bill Hart's Swell Harness. Standing in the crowd at the Liberty Theatre before Ray Cox stepped to the front of the stage and announced that William S. Hart had come all the way from the Pacific Coast to talk for the Loan, it was not at all difficult to sense the expectancy and pleasure of the men and women that packed the sidewalk and overflowed into the middle of Fifth avenue. They were there to see Hart and hear the sound of his voice. W7hen he did come forward he did not disappoint them. Clad in what a cow-puncher would speak of as swell harness, he removed his broad-brimmed hat with the true western flourish and stood bowing and smiling while the crowd took him in from head to foot. In striking con ' trast to everyone else his checkered shirt, yellow silk handkerchief knotted about his neck, high boots, leather cuffs, broncho buster's decorative vest and snuff colored coat and trousers made him the realization of the Bill Hart of the screen. It was a clever bit of showmanship, a part of the ingenious ballyhoo with which the dollars were coaxed from the crowd. And the Tom Ince star played right up to the part during all the time he held the center of the stage. His first act was to remove his coat and hitch up his sleeves with the air of a man who was not accustomed to public speaking, but who intended to lock horns with the situation and conquer it without any unnecessary delay. The next thing he did was to treat his audience to thai quizzical Hart smile, then wade in and "mix it up rough" for the Kaiser and the slacker who failed to buy Liberty Bonds. Bill went at that I) with the same wild rush thai a cow-puncher makes when he sets out to stop a runaway steer, and roped. threw and ho;; tied it in a business-like manner. He then gave a practical demonstration thai he meant all he said, by adding another one-thousand dollar bond to Ins own generous subscription. The crowd cheered him enthusiastically and followed bis example when the regu lar workers started to ask for buyers. His speech from the steps of the Sub-Treasury Building in Wall Street By Edward Weitzel was equally successful. The familiar figure in the loud shirt and high boots caught the crowd instantly and gave it no excuse for trying to connect a correctly dressed, everyday-looking individual with the two-gun man of the Golden West. He was right there before everyone. All the crowd had to do was to listen to Bill Hart's speech and respond eagerly to his appeal for buyers to speed up the Liberty Loan. The touch of the ballyhoo did its share of the work. William Farnum Mobbed by Bond Buyers. William Farnum's wife stood and looked on last Saturday afternoon and laughed heartily while her husband was mobbed in Gimbel Brothers' store. The Fox Star was surrounded by an admiring crowd of women and girls, who cutoff any chance of escape while they insisted on shaking hands with the man whose screen creations they had witnessed so often. "Please shake hands with me, Mr. Farnum!" was heard on all sides of him. And this other Bill did his best to comply with every request. The incident took place on the platform in the big Sixth avenue store. Emma Dunn and other untiring workers from the Professional Woman's League were in charge of the meeting, and the creator of Jean Valjean on the screen was their star attraction. His record proves that they could hardly have booked a stronger feature. Thirtythree million dollars is the amount of Liberty Bond sales to his credit. Of this sum twenty-five millions were taken in one night at Carnegie Hall. Mrs. Farnum's Generous Act. "How much am I offered for this silver cup?" asked William Farnum during the drive at Gimbel's. "It has been donated," he explained, "by the mother of two American soldiers over in France. She is here now and has given an article she prizes greatly as her contribution to the loan. What do I hear to start it?" "Five hundred dollars," spoke up a lady on the right of the platform. William Farnum turned to the bidder with a delighted smile and made her his very best bow. "Thank you, Mrs. Farnum !" he said. The crowd joined in a hearty laugh at his expense. But Bill was. game. He started to find bidders against his better half as though he didn't care how he made her spend money, and when the cup was finally' knocked down to her the Farnum back account was short another one thousand dollars. This was the last sale of the afternoon. As Wrilliam Farnum finished thanking his audience his wife handed the cup to one of the league committee with a message to the Fox star. This is what the actor old his hearers : "I am sure you will all be as pleased as I when you learn that Mrs. Farnum has decided to give back the cup to the mother of the two soldiers in France." Barking for the Loan. No Coney Island barker or side show booster ever gave evidence of a better knowledge of the inside workings of the ballyhoo than that displayed by the Professional Woman's League and other branches of the amusement business that have been working for the different Liberty Loans. "Keep them good natured and interested every minute!" was the motto of the workers. Led by Ray Cox, who never lost an opportunity to win a smile or a laugh from the crowd, the women of the League and their men assistants from the stage and screen and other professions kept a string of buyers moving around to the booth at. the back of the Fifth Avenue Liberty Theatre with the skill o,f .the trained showman. A short speech, a song or a funny story by some well known actor or actress, would be quickly followed by a new drive that was handled so adroitly the crowd reveived every encouragment to step up and buy. The moment one form of ballyhooing let the buying lag it was discarded for another. Many hundred thousands of dollars would never have been secured without the use of the good old bit of showmanship known as the ballyhoo. DOUG MAKES FLYING TRIP TO GOTHAM Comes on from Wash in Sells Bunch of Liberty Washington, October 18. AFTER collecting six million dollars in New York City within forty hours, Douglas Fairbanks, Artcraft's famous star, arrived back in Washington via the aeroplane mail route this afternoon shortly before 5 o'clock, making the return trip in two hours and a quarter. Immediately after landing the energetic Doug rushed to the Treasury Department. Here in front of the building a large platform was erected, and thousands jammed about the stand awaiting gton in Mail Aeroplane, Bonds and Gets Away, the appearance of the player. Fighting his way through the crowd, Doug climbed up the side of the platform and handed to Secretary McAdoo the envelope containing the subscriptions for $6,000,000 worth of Liberty Bonds from New York. When Mr. McAdoo announced the amount of subscriptions obtained by the Artcraft star, the crowd broke forth in a wonderful ovation. In thanking Doug for his splendid work, the Secretary of the Treasury paid him, as well as the motion picture industry in