The Great Dictator (United Artists) (1940)

DICTATORS 9 MOTORCADE ^om&wie ^ou/i SBup SPafaide $au<ffi=^ettiri<j ‘'Qfitda/al ” Here's a stunt that's more modern than tomorrow's headlines! Contact a local automobile dealer and get him to supply six or seven open cars. Hire a number of Chaplin impersonators, dress them as ''The Great Dictator" and put one in each car. Each dictator should stand in the back of the car and give out with frequent salutes. The cars can be used together and separately for ter¬ rific ballyhoo. Combine this "Dictators' Motorcade" with a huge parade to your theatre, bringing out all kids' organizations such as boy scouts, boys' clubs, schools, etc., with boys' bands and other local bands. A whole company of kid Chaplin im¬ personators, wearing derbies and moustaches and carrying canes, would give a terrific fillup to the stunt. You can't go overboard on this stunt no matter how elaborately you go into it. It is the slickest attention-getter you've heard of in many years. If handled properly, it's a cinch to get plenty of valuable space in your local newspapers and perhaps national picture breaks from syndicates. This one just can't miss! * Send a sound truck all over town with a man at the mike who will tell people about the picture as follows: "It's here, the picture that the whole world has been awaiting for five years—Charlie Chaplin in 'The Great Dic¬ tator,' the greatest picture Charlie has ever made and the funniest. 'The Great Dictator' is the picture that has every¬ thing and, in addition, Charlie TALKS! What does he look like as 'The Great Dictator?' How does he sound? You'll have to go to the Gem Theatre to find out." Here's one that will draw the crowds and make everybody in town "Great Distator" minded. It takes thirteen men to spell out C-H-A-P-L-l-N l-S H-E-R-E but you'll get more word of mouth advertising than you ever got before. Each man should wear a sandwich board with a single letter on the front and an announcement on the back that "The Great Dictator" is coming to your theatre. Line them up at busy corners and you'll stop traffic for blocks. The traffic cops may be unhappy but the cash register in your box-office will sing a happy song. “DICTATOR” ON YOUR MARQUEE Capitalize on the association of dictators with balconies. All your patrons have seen countless pictures of Hitler and Mussolini making speeches from balconies. Use the marquee of your theatre and different balconies around town to show off YOUR dictators. Be sure that each dictator is dressed properly with the double-cross emblem on cap and arm band. Instruct each dictator to salute the crowd frequently. He can use the salutes and also a couple of comic ones. It might also be a good idea to have your dictators wave the crowds in the direction of your theatre. As a matter of fact, it's a very necessary idea. “CHAPLIN TALKS” OUTDOOR BALLY One of the strongest show selling points in "The Great Dictator" is that Charlie Chaplin finally TALKS! Sell this to the hilt. Everybody in the country wants to know what he sounds like. Make them come to your theatre to find out but don't make a secret of the fact that he TALKS. Dress your bally man as "The Great Dictator." This will attract plenty of attention in itself. Be sure he wears a big sandwich board with this message on front and back: CHAPLIN TALKS In "The Great Dictator" at the Gem Theatre Release a cloud of balloons from your marquee at a previously announced time, and let it be known that a pair of tickets to the picture will be tied to several of the balloons. Work with boys' organizations to marshal a crowd of kids near the theatre at the time of releasing the balloons. The resulting scramble to catch the ducat-bearing floaters will be worth a layout of pictures to your local paper, so be sure that the stunt is covered by a cameraman. Page Eight