Stella Dallas (United Artists, 1937) (1937)

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l/ct **Stella** Dominate Your Front - RUN A MOTHER-AND- DAUGHTER CONTEST Stage a “Most Beautiful Mother-and-Daughter Con¬ test” with the help of your local newspaper, which should grah at the stunt as a new and appeahng circu- lation-hoosting feature. Invite mothers to send in pictures of themselves with their daughters, and judge ^ on the basis of the most attractive pair. Clothing and accessories can he promoted as prizes, in addition to whatever prizes the paper may contribute as an impetus to the stunt. After preliminary eliminations, choose the final winner on your stage, with local feminists and beauty experts as judges. The stunt is effective from the “heart” angle as well as from the standpoint of interest in beauty. The dominant note in the story of “Stella Dallas” is Stella herself—Stella as the pretty young daughter of a poor family, Stella as a nagging wife, Stella as a careless, slipshod mother, and finally Stella as an aging woman who makes a great sacrifice for her daughter’s happiness. This is the note that should dominate your front display above any other. Put across the poignant performance of Barbara Stanwyck as the unfortunate “Stella Dallas” by mounting, good and big in the center of your marquee, a cutout from still or paper of one of her closeups in emo¬ tional vein. Below this, extending across the width of your marquee, you can place a series of Stella in her many moods and stages, also reproduced from paper or stills. On a sheet of scrim in front of this display, mount the name STELLA DALLAS in large, bold letters and illumi¬ nate it from behind with a flasher so that the sign will go on and off in front of your display. For illustrative matter on either side of your entrance, blow up the stills suggested in the illustration (Nos. 18 and 164). AIR THE EMOTIONAL CONFLICT The poignant situation in “Stella Dallas,” when the mother discovers that her daughter has made social contacts that make her ashamed of her own mother, provides rich material for discussion by women’s feature writers and other domestic relations experts. You should have no trouble in arranging interviews and debates both in newspaper columns and over the air, on the topic: Should a mother supervise the social contacts of her young daughter? Or should she permit the daughter to make friendships that improve her own social status, at the risk of estranging her own parents? As a question for the Inquiring Reporter column, or as a theme for controversy in the Letters to Editor department, this topic would stir interest among innumerable people who have come face to face with the problem in their own lives. ADDITIONAL “MOTHER” CONTESTS Another “Mother” contest that’s sure to be effective is one for the “Oldest Mother in Town.” The obvious broad appeal of this stunt makes it an unusually desirable feature for any live newspaper. Competing mothers should be prepared to prove their age, and %■ should give information about the number of their children. The oldest mother will prob¬ ably prove to be also a grandmother or even a great-grandmother with a large family of de¬ scendants, pictures of which will make first- rate material for newspaper publicity and lobby displays. A variation of the idea might be a contest for the mother with the largest family, on the principle of the Stork Derbies which have had such a big play recently. Contact Women’s and Parents’ Clubs The terrific mother-love angle in the “Stella Dallas” story, with its theme of a mother’s devotion and sacrifice, offers a grand oppor¬ tunity for promotion linked up with women’s clubs, parents’ association, and like organiza- ♦ tions. Go after the members of these clubs in your direct-mail campaign, and invite the heads of the organizations to be your guests on open¬ ing night. “Stella Dallas” is essentially a woman’s picture, and its dramatic glorification ^of motherhood will win you the cooperation and support of every women’s and parents’ organization in town. Beautiful Baby Photo Contest A local photographer can be in¬ duced to cooperate with you on a Beau¬ tiful Bahy Contest and photograph the babies free of charge for the publicity and the chance of selling extra photos to the mothers. Announce the contest on your screen or in your program, ads or with a spe¬ cial throwaway. Include the name of the photographer and where the babies are to be photographed. You might arrange to have them photographed in the lobby of your theatre, thus adding to the ballyhoo. Prizes can be as important as you care to make them. You can probably promote at least one of the local mer¬ chants to donate the prizes in exchange for the publicity. If the contest is run in conjunction with the newspaper, it means that much more advertising and publicity. Pictures of the babies displayed in the lobby, in the photographer’s window or gallery as well as reproduced in the newspaper will attract all the women in town. Use the stills showing Baby Mila Samrich, who plays the role in the picture, in your publicity campaign. One of these stills is reproduced at right. MOTHER-AND-DAUGHTER ANGLE PROVIDES LIVE TIE-UP STUNTS Mother-and-Daughter Apparel Tieups Get the local fashion, ladies’ wear, depart¬ ment stores and beauty shoppes to feature a “Mother-and-Daughter” angle in their publicity and advertising during “Stella Dallas” week, or for a week or two in advance. The mother-and-daughter idea offers a novel and effective promotion slant that ties in directly with the theme of the picture. Window displays could have a sort of “double feature” effect with simultaneous showings of wearing apparel for both mother and daughter; and while they need not be identical in design, etc., the idea would be to suggest the value of mother and daughter clothing styles that harmonize. Stills and blow-ups showing Barbara Stanwyck as “Stella Dallas” with her daughter should be made a prominent feature of the displays, as well as of newspaper ads. Page Five