Broadway Gondolier (Warner Bros.) (1935)

EXPLOITATION --And The Radio Angle 1. Prize to the person who gives the best rendition (vocal or instrumental) of a chosen song from ‘Broadway Gondolier.’ 2. After any Dick Powell program spot an announcement that one, five or ten names (as you wish) will be chosen from phone book and giving persons whose name is thus called a pair of ducats. 3. A personal message from a local person who has made good in the radio world will look good in lobby display. 4. Passes to the ten girls who write the best 25-word letters on the subject ‘Why I Want To See “Broadway Gondolier”’.’ 5. Snipe a couple of programs a day with an announcement of your presentation, tagging on to a popular feature whenever possible. 6. Miniature radio studio in lobby with station attendant explaining the fine points of the equipment. 7. Special screening for local bands to get their endorsement and attendant publicity. %. Station has a fifteen-minute Dick Powell-Ted FioRito period, using records made by these artists. 9. Special preview for radio scribes. Suggest they review picture over the air, ete. Ted FioRito Broadeast You know the FioRito orchestra appears in the picture, so if he’s on your station, try for that announcement before or after. PROLOGUING THE TRAILER Carpenter or house artist could rig up the front of a gondola, and plant it protrudg ing on stage, to be used as prologue to trailer. Vocalist sits fin gondola, spot light shines on him, and he sings one or two of the film’s melodies. As he finishes, light pops out, trailer crashes on. The lad in the illustra tion fooled us by SS eee | hopping out of the gondola and standing front and center. Fans Identify Powell Record As an advance teaser, announcer tells fans that “the next song will be sung by the Singing Gondolier, sensational voice of radio’s latest importation from Venice.” He then offers free ducats to theatre to first ten letters identifying the voice. No need to tell you that the record played is one sung by Powell. Stooge on Amateur Hour Mimics Powell, Plugs Show If you can swing this, it’s quite a plug. Get a good singer to try out for the local amateur hour. If he crashes, have him say he’s imitating Powell singing some song from that great picture, ‘‘Broadway Gondolier.’’ It’ll take nerve, but if you’ve got it, more power to you! Snipe Announcements on Powell Radio Program On Powell’s previous pix, exhibs have tied-in his Hollywood Hotel program very nicely. Best of the stunts was to spot short announcements before and after the program, telling listeners that Dick was coming to theatre soon. Other showmen tied-in Campbell Soup dealers locally, nabbing coop ads, window cards and displays. If you’re not much of a tuner-inner, broadcast time is Friday nights. Program of Powell Recordings During the morning or afternoon your radio station probably plays fifteen minutes of popular records, making a complete program of them. Suggest that they do stunt with a quarterhour of Powell records, announcer introducing each number with chatty gossip on Powell and a plug for picture. Another quarter-hour record _ program might be used, playing records of pop ular songs from film, each number played by a different orch. Your 2 Radio Plugs... Prepared 1 Minute Announcement (To start the announcement, use a Dick Powell record from the picture. Start the record just where Powell sings the last line of the chorus. As he finishes, turn off the record. ) ANNOUNCER: That was Dick Powell singing one of the songs from his latest success, ““Broadway Gondolier.”” P’m sorry you missed the beginning of the song, but if you go over to the Strand Theatre tonight, you'll hear this and the many other song hits from Warner Brothers’ latest musical smash. Dick Powell is united with his sweetheart from “Gold Diggers of 1933,” Joan Blondell, and the cast includes such stars as Adolphe Menjou, Louise Fazenda, the Four Mills Brothers, and Ted FioRito and his orchestra. A thousand laughs and eight song hits make “Broadway Gondolier’ the year’s outstanding musical movie. Don’t miss it at the Strand Theatre tonight. FREE RADIO SKETCH Twelve minutes of the comedy of the film plus three minutes for picture plug. Can be put on by local dramatic group or regular studio staff. If you can use ’em we'll send enough mimeographed copies for each member of the cast. Just write Campaign Plan Editor, Warner Bros., 321 W. 44th St., New York City. The demand for our radio sketches has become so great, that we’re now making them available on all pictures. If your station isn’t using ’em, you ought to sit up, take notice and do something about it. Because when presented, you get as good a plug for the piecture as any other exploitation idea we’ve ever offered. Page Twenty-six 14 Minute Announcement (Announcement starts with Dick Powell record from picture. Just as he sings one line of the chorus, the record stops) ANNOUNCER: I’m sorry we can’t let you hear Dick Powell finish this song, but you can hear this and many other song hits by going over to the Strand Theatre tonight to see “Broadway Gondolier.” It’s a grand musical comedy and has a tremendous cast headed by Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, the Four Mills Brothers, and Ted FioRito and his band. For a real treat, see “Broadway Gondolier” at the Strand Theatre. Song Ties in With Flower Shop “THE ROSE IN HER HAIR came from the Dennis Flower Shop.” Would your local florist like this caption in his window, along with stills from picture? TOURING GONDOLA FLOAT WITH SINGING GONDOLIER Don’t you think a float built like a gondola, (see illustration) would make the folks stop and look? When it tours streets, crooner dressed like gondolier vocals film’s hit tunes through an amplifier ... introducing each melody with a plug for film. Of course you’re slapping banners all over the place. POSTER CUT-OUTS? LOOK! Paper on this one cuts. out into these convenient sizes. And as you can see at a glance they’ll look right smart on your front, in the lobby or in store windows. 24-Sheet a 24-Sheet 3-Sheet Women Advise Joan Blondell See if this is reason enough for the Women’s Page to run this contest: Prizes for the best letters submitted on how Joan Blondell should feed and take care of her new baby. Mike in Lobby Broadcasts Impersonations of Stars If you know of one, a talented lad imitating Dick Powell, the Mills Brothers and others in cast should make ’em take notice. Rig up a microphone, some speakers out front, give him a snappy announcer —and you’ll have a great little ballyhoo. PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE Your artist looks at the illustration to see how to build a gondola around an usher. Dress the lad like a gondolier, stick a paddle in his hand, and let him walk the streets, moving his paddle as if he were in water. He can sing, hand out . anything to get the plug over. heralds . . Record Shop Cooperates In Contest and Window Display Cooperating victrola shop works this contest with you. Putting about a dozen portable victrolas in window, they pull shade down, put a record of the film’s music on one of them, then lift shade and let crowd listen to the music through an amplifier. Ducats go to guessers who can figure out which victrola is playing the music. (From ‘Gondolier,’ of course. ) FOR CAB DRIVERS ONLY Did you know that Dick plays a cabbie in this film? Bet that you’re way ahead of us already with stunts that this brings to mind. With local newspaper cooperation, con tests for most popular cabbie in town, for the _. best-looking, and for Via yo, AMateur contest ig” from stage or radio, find best vocalist among the hackmen. If he’s good enough, might be worthwhile to give him a week’s engagement at theatre. And of course the parade of cags, as illustrated. Local Bands Imitate FioRito Lately big orchestras are having a lot of fun imitating each other. Why not see if a band in town will give an imitation of Ted FioRito playing a number from ‘‘Broadway Gondolier?’’