Her Husbands Secretary (Warner Bros.) (1937)

CONTESTS, STREET BALLYS SIMPLE LOBBY DISPLAYS EXPLOITATION 10 EASY SECRETARY IDEAS HANDCUFFED SECRETARY For an attention-getting street bally you could have a woman handcuffed to a policeman. Have her dragged down the street through traffic evidently much against her will. Small sign on her back should explain: Suit brought against “‘Her Husband’s Secretary”’ by the boss’ wife for man-theft. For details see ‘‘Her Husband’s Secretary’ at the Strand. Stunt could be adapted for use in your lobby by setting up a miniature training camp for your comic woman. Borrow some gym equipment from local merchant and have the plant who is dressed in appropriate attire, pull weights, lift dumbbells, skip rope, etc. Explain that she is a husband’s secretary going through a period of intensive training in preparation for her | meeting the boss’ wife. USE DICTAPHONE Put a dictaphone in your lobby—place it on executive-looking desk—with an usher to attend to the mechanism and invite patrons to record their comments. Then blow-up their remarks on a special display card. You can make up your own praise of film and just use the reccrding gag to make an attractive display which should get them talking. Entire stunt could be worked with the co-operation of one of town’s dealers. Customers will like idea of using dictaphone .. . gives them feeling of importance. eS Sra HE Be | HusBaNo's = || SECRETARY TYPISTS PROTEST Pretty girls carrying placards and picketing your because think it unfair to tell the world secrets that should be known only to ‘Her Husband's Secretary,’ will stop pedestrian traffic and cause plenty of comment. Might let them wander to busy sections of town with their signs, distributing heralds as they go. If possible get a group of secretaries to organize and conduct a meeting in your theatre before your regular performance which of course results in their passing of a resolution against wives prying into the affairs of their husband's secretaries. With local scribes in attendance you could easily get some very worthwhile publicity breaks. The business schools should be willing to send a few speakers to entertain your turnout of shorthanders and typists. theatre APPEAL TO WIVES Direct your selling appeal directly at wives in this novel manner. Place a large scrap book in your lobby, and invite wives to give their suggestions on “How To Foil Your Husband’s Secre tary.”” You might call it “A Manual For Wives.” Put a box nearby so that ideas can be left there. Best plan wins guest tickets and mention on display board. Decorate book a bit with scenes from picture and with decorative borders, etc. ; DICTATION CONTESTS Title of this picture suggests a number of contests some of which have been used quite a few times before but are still capable of stimulating good deal of interest in your show. Secretarial tests such as speed typing, shorthand, and endurance typing can_ be worked either in your lobby, in| conjunction with local paper, or in window of large department store. Play it up big by inviting all the business schools in the city to co-operate and send their best students as entrants. A demonstration of office equipment in your lobby (if it is large enough) should result in a number of tie-up ads by responsive dealers. Merchants will be more than willing to co-operate as contest will attract people interested in office work. they @ QUESTIONNAIRE Why not give the employers a chance to explain their ideas of a perfect secretary? You might make up a questionnaire and send it, week in advance of opening, to a few of the more prominent local business men. All they have to do is check the qualifications they think most important. After the returns come in, tabulate and announce results in lobby or on ‘A’ board in front of theatre. Might make it a contest between attractive and unattractive secretaries. See which is more popular. RUN POLL Should a wife select her husband’s secretary is a question which arises quite frequently in the minds of women. So why not conduct a poll in your town among the readers of one of the local Papers to find trend of opinion? You might place a small box in your lobby and have patrons vote. Good idea to print excerpts from most worthy answers. All this in advance of your opening, of course. Your local editor may go for the stunt as a feature. Why not suggest it? LOBBY ART Making use of the special appeal to wives suggested in the title. Dig up a display with large head of Beverly Roberts as central figure. Around this place copy in bold letters: ‘‘Wives! Beware of this woman. Don’t let her be your husband’s secretary.”’ Spot a number of scene stills on display board and you have a lobby ‘item that will be read by every woman patron. Or mount Roberts head on placard and parade in front of theatre. A TRIANGLE An old but still most effective way of getting across the triangle of lives in conflict is to arrange blow-up heads of Jean Muir, Beverly Roberts and Warren Hull and place in each corner of a large triangular shaped display card. Title, credits and playdates can be located in the center. To make this a bit more elaborate you might place flashers behind heads of stars which go on and off alternately. SHOW STILLS An attractive layout of scene stills from the picture is one of the best ways of arousing interest in your lobby display. Title of film suggests use of a huge replica of a stenographer’s pad as background for your layout. To dress this up a bit you might add cut-out of a pair of shapely legs which can be made to swing back and forth under the giant steno’s pad. Ought to catch plenty of male eyes. Look at the three sheet on this picture and see how you can use the art for this display. Page Three