The Great Dictator (United Artists) (1940)

PA A1 PAULETTE AS A STAR Introduced to film audiences five years ago in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times," Paulette Goddard today is one of the most glamorous and talented ac¬ tresses in Hollywood. Now a star in her own right, lovely Paulette has "returned home" to appear as Charlie s leading lady in "The Great Dictator." She has been featured in such films as "The Young In Heart," "Dramatic School," "The Women," "The Cat and the Canary" and "The Ghost Breakers." Sell Paulette as one of Hollywood's topflight stars —not just a leading lady but a star in her own right— with a lobby display pointing up her progress from "Modern Times" to "The Great Dictator." Stills simi¬ lar to those shown above are available at 10c each— order PG-1, PG-2, PG-3, PG-4, PG-5, PG-6. Contrast these with a big blowup still from her latest hit, with copy stressing the progress Paulette has made in between! GODDARD NEWS BREAKS In addition to lobby display, you should give full emphasis to exploitation of Paulette Goddard as the shining feminine star of the picture by cracking the newspaper columns as often as possible with the many excellent per¬ sonality and feature stories and photo mats which you will find in the Publicity Section of this pressbook. Paulette has already been publicized in nationally released news stories and pictures as Chaplin's leading lady. The opening of the picture in your town will make her important local news that will find ready space in your paper. * STAGE A TALENT HUNT tyi/io’b f/ie “Sfcca/ SPauleffle” Charlie Chaplin discovered Paul¬ ette Goddard and made her his lead¬ ing lady in "Modern Times" five years ago. Maybe you have a potential Paulette Goddard in your town. Stage a talent hunt and find out! Invite girls between the ages of 15 and 25 to compete, with final eliminations held on your theatre stage. The win¬ ner should be rewarded with a suit¬ able prize. In addition to the obvious advan¬ tages, this talent hunt will furnish you with a stage show for the even¬ ing that surpasses in interest any¬ thing you could buy. All girls are movie struck and the reply to this contest should be tremendous. Tied with the local newspaper, it will get a lot of free space. Local papers like to print pictures of pretty local girls. Capitalize on this and sell the paper! Persuade your local newspaper to announce the contest and invite aspirants among the local girls to submit their pictures as the first step in the competition. The most beau¬ tiful picture printed each day will give your paper the kind of "glamour" feature it wants, and will keep the publicity boiling for your show. >f BEAUTY TIEUPS The scene in the picture where Chaplin gives Paulette Goddard an impromptu beauty treatment and transforms her from a begrimed little slavey back to her radiant¬ looking self, gives you your takeoff for local tieups with beauty shops around town. Build window displays around a set of Goddard stills showing her in both characters in the film; both "before" and "after" beauty treatment, with copy emphasizing the God¬ dard glamour and Paulette as a versatile star. WRITE A GAG for PAULETTE MOST BEAUTIFUL PATCHED COSTUME FOR PAULETTE Patched costumes for girls are a popular fad—national de¬ signers and leading New York department stores are featuring this cute, youthful new style feature. And there's your natural tie-in for extra publicity breaks on Paulette Goddard and the role she plays in "The Great Dictator." Tie with a local store, with the aid of your newspaper or radio station, to sponsor a contest in which girls are invited to submit the most beautiful patched costume. Link it with Paulette by running her stills in connection with the contest, and explain that Paulette wears these simple, peasant clothes with patches—patches designed for her by Charlie Chaplin himself. The winning costume designs should be displayed in your lobby and also reproduced on the newspaper's fashion page. And if possible, get the co-operating store to make actual use of them in its line of patched costumes for girls. Nearly everybody fancies himself as a humorist. That's why this stunt has a uni¬ versal appeal. Above are four stills showing Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard. You can see what Charlie is saying. The idea is to write an answering gag for Goddard—one that will suggest the explosive hilarity of the show. Paulette must say something that is funny and clever and yet must answer what Charlie is saying to her. The fans will go for this chance to shine at the comeback wisecrack—and at the same time to compete for prizes or tickets to the show. An added appeal of this con¬ test is that it presents Charlie Chaplin talk¬ ing for the first time. Get your newspaper to run it as a daily series, with the publicity bally that it rates. A running story should accompany each day's still, with the best gags submitted so far by readers, etc. These stills are available in 2-column size (illus¬ trations reduced here. Order the complete set on Mat No. 45-B—30c; Cut—50c. Page Seven