Of Mice and Men (United Artists) (1939)

A Photo-serial in six chapters based on the HAL ROACH screenplay^ made from John Steinbeck’s famous novel, with an all star cast, released thru UNITED ARTISTS CHAPTER 1 Jmall are a pair of migratory George has often thought of running out on Lennie, Clara learns that their last job ended, because once he gives him a signal. George hops on a freight train; that wandering tribe some- so that he can get somewhere in the world; but he never again Lennie got them into trouble and they escaped he keeps moving as on a treadmill along the top of the :stiflfs.” They have no real carries out his resolve because he cannot bear the thought with a posse at their heels. As George explains what moving car in order to keep Lennie in view. He is torn at they earn as they go from of what would happen to Lennie if he had no one to care happened, he works himself up into an angry lather between two ideas—freedom and compassion for Lennie. except the one they dream for him. Before they set out for the Jackson Ranch in and declares that this time he is really going to leave Suddenly, and hardly aware of what he is doing, he of frightening strength but California, another temporary stopping-off place on Lennie behind. Clara, who knows that George will weaken signals Lennie. Lennie climbs the ladder onto the box ellect of a child. He always their path to nowhere, George and Lennie stop for a again, advises him to carry out his plan—if he can. car and sits down beside George without the slightest lin their "best laid plans.” visit at the home of Lennie’s aunt, Clara. George tells Lennie to wait on a street corner until suspicion of what has happened ... photo serial sells the story thrills The famous characters and story they’ve all read about are brought to life for the fans in this fast-moving photo serial, alive with the dramatic movement and suspense of the picture. It’s the kind of pictorial feature that editors wel¬ come, and it gives you six days of swell advance selling plugs for your show. Get your “Of Mice and Men” photo serial planted in your local paper, and see that it’s given strong promotion via truck posters, newsstand placards, ad¬ vance ads, etc. Order set of six eight-column mats from United Artists Exploitation Dept. Price complete, $1.50. Roman Bohnen Charles Bickford Bob Steele FANS—CAST THE FAMOUS STORY run this six^day shotv•'building contest for strong publicity breahs Let the fans be their own casting directors! They’ve always wanted to be; they’ve always been saving, “Why don’t they put such-and-such an actor in such a part?” So give them a chance to do their own casting for “Of Mice and Men,” and see how they agree with Hollywood’s choice! This show-selling stunt, to be run in the form of a newspaper contest, is especially pat for your great Steinbeck film, because nearly five million people have read the book and seen the play, and countless others know what it’s about from reading reviews and hearing discussions. Here’s how the contest works: Illustrated here are a series of one-column matted heads of the principal players in the cast. Their names are given, but not the roles they play in the picture. With each mat, run a complete set of brief descriptions of the main story characters which you will find below. Let the fans collect the entire set and then send in their suggestions on how to cast them, with or without a short letter giving the reasons for their choice. Offer prizes for those whose choices correspond with the real cast. It’s a contest that carries a powerful build-up for your show, and a swell, different feature for your paper. Get it planted! Order the complete set of heads on Mat No. 47B—30c; Cut—50c. Here are the descrip¬ tions: George, a wandering ranch hand; Mae, “a girl looking for trouble”; Lennie, a child-minded young giant whom George befriends; Candy, the ranch man-of-all-work; Slim, a mule skinner, “Prince of the Ranch”; Curley, a mean little bantam, the boss’ son. explait the unusual screen^credit idea There’s a novel, precedent-breaking idea in introducing the screen credits in “Of Mice and Men” that’s bound to make screen history. As a feature of your show that’s bound to draw wide attention, it deserves your exploitation efforts. Here it is: The picture opens without any credits or introduction of any kind: we simply see Lennie and George (Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr.) running madly for their lives. They hide in a swamp, in water almost up to their noses, while the feet of their pursuers pass by them. Then they make a break for the railroad station and hook a ride on a freight train. As the box cars rush across the screen, several minutes after the unheralded opening of the picture, we see the famous quotation from Robert Bums, “The best laid plans of mice and men go oft agley,” in the form of roughly chalked printing on the sides of the cars. While signature music wells up loud, the camera moves in to a closeup of the words, “OF MICE AND MEN,” followed by credits, then the train fades into the next scene—all without any break in the fast action. This marked originality in treatment is a definite selling point on your show. Use it for local gossip column plant, as a radio item, in your publicity stories, and perhaps for lobby copy introduced by the dis¬ play line; “WATCH FOR THE UNIQUELY STRIKING INTRODUCTION TO ‘OF MICE AND MEN’.” radio shatr- selling “Vox Pop” In Your Lobby Get your local air station to join in a strong selling stunt on your show by staging one of the ever-popular “Vox Pop” broad¬ casts from the lobby of your theatre on opening night. Set up a portable mike in your lobby and get fans exiting from the first show to broadcast their opinions on how the film compares with the novel, how they liked the characters, etc. Plant a local literary critie or columnist on this radio show for a persuasive plug on the picture. Get Radio Plug On Famous Duos For a free plug on your local radio question bee, here’s a typical question you can plant which leads naturally to a mention of your picture: Name five pairs of well-known inseparable friends in literature. Answers are Damon and Pythias, Romulus and Remus, David and Jonathan of the Bible, William Essex and Dermot O’Riordan of “My Son, My Son,” and of course George and Lennie in “Of Mice and Men.” Spot Announcements Here are 50-word and 100-word radio plugs for your pieture. Use them as separate between-program spots on your loeal sta¬ tion, or as commercials in connection with any radio stunt with which you have tied up; 50-WORD ANNOUNCEMENT Here’s real news! At last the best-selling novel and prize-winning play by John Steinbeck comes to the screen in a great picture that brings to life the men and women who shatter every Hollywood con¬ vention in revealing their impassioned drama. See “Of Mice and Men,” with an all-star cast headed by Burgess Meredith, Betty Field and Lon Chaney Jr., at the .... Theatre starting .... lOO-WORD ANNOUNCEMENT A great book, a great stage play, has now been made into the year’s greatest motion picture! John Steinbeck’s best-selling novel, “Of Mice and Men,” comes to the screen with all its impassioned drama. It’s the picture that shatters every Hollywood convention—the picture the) said could never be made! See this story by America’s greatest writer, brought to life on the screen by producer Hal Roach and director Lewis Milestone, with an all-star cast headed by Burgess Meredith, Betty Field and Lon Chaney, Jr. See “Of Mice and Men” at the ... . Theatre, starting .... Broadcast Record Here, all ready for airing on your local station, is a hangup 15-minute radio show on wax that gets across all the audience- appealing qualities of dramatic intensity, pathos and heart in¬ terest in the pieture, coupled with strong selling on the Steinbeck authorship of the story. You can’t fail to add importantly to your box-office take when you get this record planted. Order it direct from United Artists Exploitation Dept. Price, $2.00. Page Seven