Mr. Robinson Crusoe (United Artists) (1932)

Fast and Furious Drama — ThaFs the Way to Sell Mr. Robinson Crusoe Here’s Doug in the kind of story that you’ve been waiting for. Doug at his best. Jumping, leaping, bounding Doug in a comedy-drama that fairly zooms out of the screen. Doug has always been a big money maker. As ROBINHOOD he mopped up. As THE GAUCHO he was a gold-miue. 3 D’ARTAGNAN money flowed in as never before. Those are the type of parts the public loves him in. Action, witli a laugh thrown in here and there; exciting sequences, battling against odds are all packed into MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE. It’s got bigness of theme and a publicity value that will help you reap receipts in your city, but it is up to you as a wise showman to make sure that no single soul in town is unaware that MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE is coming. Vast Exploitation Possibilities There are many angles of exploitation that are certain to more than repay you for your efforts, but be sure that you definitely plant in the public mind, first, that this is not a travel picture, second, the story is not based on the Daniel DeFoe novel ROBINSON CRUSOE, but is a modern story, up-to-date comedy drama, that is faster by far than anything Doug has ever done before. Doug, a rough, vigorous, slashing figure that will appeal to kids and grown-ups as well. Paper your town in circus fashion. Use cut-outs on Doug and Maria Alba and prominently display them in your theatre at least a week before the opening, and utilize many of the other stunts herewith mentioned. Give your ad. budget a chance. Spend money on MR. ROBIN¬ SON CRUSOE and you will PLAY DOUG TO OVERFLOWING CROWDS. Could a Man Live Today as Robinson Crusoe Did? The theme of MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE is based on a bet that Doug makes with friends that he could live on the South Sea Isle alone and in four weeks build him¬ self all the comforts of civilization. Here’s an ideal theme for a daily feature. Tie-up with your local newspaper. Arrange as a publicity stunt, for some man to go inti) an isolated part of the country in the neighborhood of your city, several weeks in ad¬ vance of the opening of MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE at your theatre. Have day by day reports of sure publicity items. For instance, the first day, he probably cooked whatever food he needed and started to build his shelter. The second day he probably got to work tidying up the place and built some chairs or a bed to rest in. The third day he designed tools that would help him do his work with a minimum of effort, and so on in chrono¬ logical order. By means of a contest of this type you could build up tremendous advance interest in the picture and give your publicity a ballyhoo punch that would benefit your engagement. In the event that you wish to limit your expense in this connection you might have this man only live as ROBINSON CRUSOE for two or three days just prior to the opening of the picture and publish photographs of his attire, his choice of abode, and a teaser to the effect that this man is living as ROBINSON CRUSOE did. Can you locate him? In other words, have the man planted in some out-of-the-way spot in the vicinity of your theatre, and have the newspaper sponsor a hunt for the missing man. Flicker Books Will Sell Tickets Is the Beard Coming Back? Doug Says Yes You can arouse a tremendous amount of com¬ ment about the subject of a man’s beard. Doug strenuously maintains that it improves a man’s appearance and that the popularity of the shaven face is on the wane. Work a tie-up with your local barbers. Get them to confer an honorary degree on Douglas Fairbanks for having brought back the beard. Since a man wearing a beard requires almost daily care from his barber to keep it nicely trimmed and retain its neat appearance, most barbers will be in favor of cultivation of the beard. Then, of course, the other side of the contro¬ versy is that a man with a beard will go less often to the barber shop to be shaved. Between these two opposing forces you may be able to plant a newspaper contest with various readers writing in expressing their opinion as to whether the beard is coming back. In most in¬ stances you will find that woman readers will be the first to send in letters. Catchlines What a battle for Doug to tame this female Tarzan and transform her into a Follies’ beauty. Alone with this savage girl at last—alone— with only five hundred cannibals charging down on him from one side and another tribe of angry natives rushing toward him from the other. What a man! Down he went swinging from the home-made trolley with one hand, fighting off natives with the other. Douglas Fairbanks in a modern adventure drama that fairly seethes with action and thrills. See the cannibals thwarted by an invisible army of thousands as the excited roar of a football crowd over Doug’s home-made radio puts them in a frenzy of fear. Fighting, leaping, bounding Douglas Fair¬ banks in MR. ROBINSON CRUSOE. A story that you’ll remember as long as you live. The greatest Doug of all in an adventure story that fairly leaps from^the screen. A cannibal girl who deserted her own tribe to cast her savage affections at Doug’s feet. What did Doug do? What would you do?