Born for Trouble (Warner Bros.) (1942)

EXPLOITATION o-WAY DUTY HERE> Highlight your exploitation campaign with this seal and slogan, “It's the Crime of Your Life.” Make your illustration from the reprint at the right. No mats available. Add title and playdate where necessary. 1. LOBBY DISPLAY: Blow up seal and mount on compo board. Cut out and insert transparencies at end of gun muzzle and smoke cloud. Red flasher lights are set behind display so that as lights go on, you get effect of gun firing and slogan is punched across. Copy: “You'll Never Solve the MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE.” 2. TRADEMARK: Reprint this seal in all your newspaper ads and theatre programs. Use it on lobby displays and snipe it on all poster paper. 3. STAMPS: Print seal on gummed paper and use it to stamp your mail well in advance of playdate. Paste it at the bottom of throwaways suggested on this page. 4. SNIPES: Blow up seal and mount on heavy cardboard for sniping around town on fences, empty store windows and telephone poles. 5. TEASER CARDS: Get out a series of small teaser cards with seal printed at top of card. Copy: “You'll Never Solve the ‘Murder In The Big House’;” ” ... When A Killer Strikes In Death Row! ‘Murder In The Big House’ —lIt’s A Thriller!”; “Killers on the Loose Behind Prison Bars Means ‘Murder In The Big House’!” ‘WHODUNIT’ LOBBY DISPLAY Your sign shop can do all the fixin’ of the 3-sheet that’s needed to make this teaser lobby display. Mount 3-sheet and above title treatment insert copy: “You'll never solve the MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE.” Alongside vertical panel of four heads at left of 3-sheet, use this copy in heavy black arrows: 1. Was it Ruth Gordon, moll of the convicted murderer, awaiting execution in Death Row?; 2. Was it Prison Warden John Bevins, notorious politician?; 3. Was it Gladys Wayne, sob sister on the “Morning News?”; 4. Was it Randall, crafty City Editor of the “Morning News?”; 5. (With head of Bill Phillips at right side of poster) : Was it Mike, chauffeur for Bill Burgen, underworld king? Closing copy with picture title: “It’s the Crime of Your Life!” TABLOID HERALD Get up this tabloid (shown in reduced size at right) for street throwaways. Make herald regular 11”x17" tabloid size. See circulation editor of local paper about printing this as an “Extra.” Name of cooperating newspaper is substituted in masthead of tabloid. Distribute by newsboys hawking “WUXTRY! WUXTRY!” in streets. 2 ‘SENSATIONAL’ DISPLAYS At local newspaper morgue get flash headlines of jailbreaks, jail riots, executions and other criminal news. Mount on lobby display board with this copy: “MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE. MYSTERY SHROUDS KILLING OF ‘DAPPER DAN’ MALLOY. See it NOW!” Add scene stills from picture. ‘EXTRA | Daily Star | FLASH MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE Killer On The Loose In State Prison Death Row MYSTERY SHROUDS MURDER OF ‘DAPPER DAN’ MALLOY [IMPRINT] Set up a phony “electric chair” in your lobby. Any wooden, straight-back chair fitted with wiring will do. In back of chair, use display board of electric flasher lights and copy: “KILLER ON LOOSE IN DEATH ROW! PHANTOM MURDERER CHEATS ELECTRIC CHAIR!” Complete display with cutouts from 6-sheet and scene stills from picture. REWARD! ‘REWARD’ CARDS AROUND TOWN Snipe these “REWARD” posters on telephone poles, newsstands, fences and empty store windows around town. Still shown in poster is still MD 14, available at your Vitagraph exchange. $10,000 worth of thrills and chills are yours when you see MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE It’s the Crime of Your Life! [IMPRINT] WANT TO PLAY UP NEWSPAPER ANGLE? HERE’S HOW! Tie in your showing with the current drive to salvage waste paper. Institute a ““Waste Paper for Victory” campaign locally in cooperation with your newspaper. Announce that persons returning most back copies of cooperating paper for salvage will get guest tickets to show. Proceeds from sale of paper go to some service charity. Campaign theme: Aid national defense and at same time treat yourself to a grand mystery thriller! Conduct vote among local fourth-estaters to select most outstanding man or femme reporter. Have winner down to theatre as honor guest on opening night. The proof reading contest is always popular. Reprint one of the publicity stories from this pressbook with many spelling mistakes, transpositions, misplaced lines, etc. Cooperating paper runs story on want ad page. Lobby display plays up reporter angle. All stills available at your Vitagraph exchange. Stills and captions: “SOB SISTER COVERS THE MURDER IN THE BIG HOUSE” Still MD 1: Managing Editor shows Gladys Wayne (Faye Emerson), ‘“Morning News’ reporter, the United News story on the mysterious death of Dapper Dan Malloy, while awaiting execution in the State Prison’s Death Row. Still MD 2: ‘Come on, Bert, we’re headed for the State Prison. The M. E. figures there’s something behind Dapper Dan‘s death. It may be murder!’ Still MD 7: At the press room in the State Prison, Gladys discovers Bill Burgen, underworld king, is involved in Dapper Dan’s death. Still MD 15: Gladys checks on Burgen’s activities while Bert goes to question the prison warden. Undercover investigation proves Dapper Dan was murdered. Still MD 22: They follow up the case and, thru a trap set by Bert, the killers are exposed. Other fourth-estaters join in the celebration. SEE THIS MYSTERY THRILLER! IT’S THE CRIME OF YOUR LIFE! Novel promotion idea cooked up by Loew’s State Theatre (Newark, N.J.) in cooperation with theatre editor of Newark ‘StarLedger” gave patrons a chance to “be a reporter.” Battery of typewriters was set up in lobby “city room” and patrons were invited to write their reviews of current picture. Winner was assigned to write regular “Star-Ledger” review of State’s next show. Try this one out locally. Reporters have to be observant. Give patrons an observation test by having them study a lobby display on the picture for ten seconds. Then ask contestants to jot down all the details of the display—content, color, etc. Tickets go to complete reports. Have localites cooperate with newspaper in submitting news tips to city editor. Prizes go to best news leads.