Moving Picture World (Mar 1919)

1772 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD is made as regards advertising in magazines that are devoted to amusements in general ; and which conduct a moving picture department. I believe it would be a waste of money to advertise in such periodicals. I could take the article up point by point and agree to them, but there is little to be added. First National's policy well deserves the indorsement of every exhibitor in the country. It is economy of the right kind. By Ellis Bostick Manager New Strand and Merrill Theatres, Milwaukee, Wis., Who Advances Some Idea on Advertising in General. I READ in your last issue that the First National Exhibitors Circuit has restricted its trade journal advertising to the five mediums that are concerned exclusively with the motion picture industry instead of placing ads in the dozens of magazines clamoring for such business. I am not a First National Exhibitor, but I certainly indorse this movement on its part, and believe it could be taken up with safety and great economic benefit by dozens of other companies. I take three magazines devoted to the motion picture business — and I read them. Once in a great while, for reading on the train or something like that, I buy a magazine devoted to legitimate stage affairs, with a section for the movies somewhere in the back pages, but I never buy it with the thought that it will help me run my business, or that I can get new ideas from it. I think my idea of trade magazines is the same as that of other average exhibitors. We read the leading ones, and let the others accumulate until they become a nuisance and then dump them in the waste basket. Certainly the movie field is well covered by five trade journals. Reviews Must Be Unbiased. The reviews in a trade journal should be unbiased, and I believe they are in one or two trade journals. They are looking for business, though, and can't come right out and rap their best advertisers, we admit that. I am not troubled by criticisms, though, for the fact that I rarely need them. My two theatres show prereleases most of the time, and the trade journals come out with reviews about two weeks later. But I can readily appreciate how the reviewers should be unbiased for the benefit of the small town exhibitor. There's another point about advertising that I might mention at this time. I think the most useless advertising for motion pictures is that done in magazines which are "home reading," that is, not devoted to the theatrical business or any branch of it. I consider that a flat failure and a waste of good money. The company's name is brought out, it is true, but the plays that are mentioned will perhaps not reach the town for months after the ad is read, and it will be forgotten, or the features may have been there prior to the insertion of the ad, and so it is worse than wasted — no one bothers to read it. It is bad enough to waste advertising on magazines devoted to all branches of theatrical business, but advertising in "home magazines" is a dead loss. It is my opinion that advertising for a certain company should not be allotted to a big advertising concern in New York, or elsewhere, to place ads all through the United States. I know of a case like that which happened not long ago. A company came here to Milwaukee and investigated advertising rates, found the cheapest and inserted the ads in that paper. When Money Was Wasted. It had the lowest circulation in the city, and reached people who never patronized us and wouldn't to the end of time. They showed up a lot of space they had secured — but to us it was worth nothing. Another company invested a certain sum of money here two years ago in advertising a certain production. They selected the third rate paper in the city and inserted ads day after day. I would rather have had one good ad in the first class paper of the city than ten in that paper. Besides having a poor advertising medium, the fellow who wrote them couldn't have sold snowshoes in Alaska through those ads. Then th-ey raised a howl because they had invested all that money in advertising and the returns were no greater. The next time I had a feature from that company I told them to give me just one third of the money and let me do my own advertising. I put in a few big "punchy" ads, and you should have seen business climb. Local exhibitors know what is best for local conditions. No Use for Billboards. Billboard advertising is another waste of time and money. People aren't going to heed billboards, they want to see the ads in their daily papers, the ads of shows in town that day, or that week — no future or past stuff. * The First National is to be commended on the stand its exhibitor owners have taken on trade journal advertising. Five magazines devoted exclusively to the motion picture business covers the motion picture field thoroughly, and money is saved that can be devoted to the productions, or to local advertising. March 29, 1919 Select Has Special in "Bolshevism on Trial" BOLSHEVISM ON TRIAL" is the title of the new, timely, special production which Select Pictures Corporation has drawn for itself from the year's big attractions. The photodrama, as its title implies, deals with a burning question of the day — the spread of Bolshevism. The picture is not propaganda, but drama, which is a convincing addition to the discussion pro and con of the Bolshevistic bogey. The production work on "Bolshevism on Trial" has been entirely completed, and this feature is now in the printing stage. Select's exchanges throughout the United States and Canada have been authorized to accept immediate play dates. No release date is being set as prints will be furnished to the first-run customers as fast as they can be completed, and the custom of first come first served will be observed. President Lewis J. Selznick and other officials of the Select corporation are firmly convinced that in "Bolshevism on Trial" they have one of the biggest special productions of recent years. Select Pictures will be the first in the field with a photodrama dealing with this subject, and it is felt that exhibitors will find that their patrons have an enormous interest in this subject. Every aid that can be extended to exhibitors, therefore, has been planned, and the Select officials will stand behind each presentation and endeavor to assist the theatre making it to obtain results at the box office commensurate with the importance of the undertaking. Story Taken from Dixon's "Comrades." The basic story from which "Bolshevism on Trial" was fabricated is contained in Thomas Dixon's successful novel, "Comrades"; but the story has been adapted and developed so as to meet the present international situation. The story that is told on the screen is a thrilling human drama of Americans of the average type. "Bolshevism on Trial" is not a war picture and has no war scenes in it. The scenes are laid in a community on this side of the Atlantic, not in Europe. There is a love story, of course; but aside from the human touches which vivify and lighten the dramatic subject through the entire length of its six reels there is one moving, driving theme, which pushes steadilv on from start to finish, and that is the struggle of Bolshevism to assert itself and to dominate. How the play handles this is best left to be told bv the reviewers. "Bolshevism on Trial" was produced by the Mayflower Photoplay Corporation, of which Isaac Wolper is president. Robert Fraser, Leslie Stowe, Howard Truesdell, Valda Valkyrien and Ethel Wright are prominent members of the cast, which proves itself wholly equal to the calls made upon it by the story. Fay Tincher doming in Christie Comedies, the First to Be "Sally's Blighted Career." Hall Announces Another Release. Frank G. Hall, president of Independent Sales Corporation, announces as the fifth of the series of twelve special productions released bv Independent under the 10-20-30 rentals, a screen versiotrof Governeur Mcrris' novel. "When My Ship Comes In." produced under the direction of Robert Thornby with Jane Grey in the featured role.