The Case of the Velvet Claws (Warner Bros.) (1936)

EXPLOITATION INEXPENSIVE SELLING ANGLES For Novel Stunt, Try TESTING PATRONS WITH LIE DETECTOR Since lie detector plays important part in film, you might be able to work out a pretty good stunt by borrowing one and setting it up in lobby. With psychoanylist or police to help, you shouldn’t have any difficulty in getting your patrons inter ested in the set-up. ATTENDANT INVITE ’EM TO TRY IT Of course, first stunt that would come to mind would be to ask couples to try your machine. They’Il probably gag around, with wives asking husbands where they went the night before . . . but it ought to be fun. USE IT AS CONTEST Another angle would be to have sign near detector offering free tickets to anyone who can tell a deliberate lie without having it register on the machine. You can think up any obviously false statement and ask folks to repeat it while they’re harnessed to the detector. The chances, they tell us, are very slim for anybody to take your tickets. EXPLAINS IT Whatever stunt you use, it’s always a good idea to have somebody around who can tell folks about the machine. You know, it’s a tricky gadget, and just the explanation about its workings should prove quite interesting to your patrons. CLAWS WAG BEFORE TRAILER You might give your patrons little chill effect before trailer flashes on screen. All you do is douse house lights and place ‘papier-mache vicious-looking, claw-like -hand in front _of -nepiectinr machine After you think you've given em enough “.. zip comes the trailer. Hits. . HERALDS FROM BOOK PAGES A good stunt we’ve seen worked before, is to buy or promote a couple of copies of the book from local book shop. Pages should be torn out and surprinted with picture plug and theatre name in red ink. 1-DAY NEWSPAPER CONTEST Below you'll find 1-day contest that you might be able to plant in paper or use in program or lobby. Idea is for folks to identify masked still of Winifred Shaw in return for ducats. WHO IS THIS MOVIE STAR? (Publicity Story) Here you are, Movie Fans! There are free tickets waiting for you at the pa | ae Theatre. All you have to do is to identify the star whose picture is shown at left. Then, if you’re one of the first ten people to send in her name to the Contest Edi (paper), you will receive two free tickets to see her when she comes Mat No. 104—10c (date). Page Two A First National Picture @ Country of origin U. S. A. Copyright 1936 Vitae raph, Inc. ANIMATED DISPLAY CONTEST For lobby animation, you could get up a shadow box with stills of cast displayed. When light flashes from behind, velvet claws appear above each still. Copy reads: cous, teWerlve* Caw sri'e— next.”’ If you want to use it as a contest, additional copy can read: ‘Two free tickets to see ‘The Case of the Velvet Claws’ will be given to each of the first ten people who give the correct answers accompanied by an explanation of 25 words or less.” BOOK DISPLAY IN LOBBY For a lobby display, you could make a blow-up photo of the book cover—and surround it with copies of other books by Erle Stanley Gardner. Copy ties in book series with your latest mystery film. STENCILLING ON SIDEWALKS If city fathers okay stunt, you might have one of your ushers make rounds of town’s main streets stencilling figure of clawlike hand on sidewalks. Should coppers nix stunt . . . they’d surely have no objection if stencil were to be in water which dries quickly. However, in this case, boy bending over, painting on street should cause folks to stop and see what he’s doing. You could use just the claw to tease ’em.. . or add pic’s title with it. WINDOW DRESSED IN VELVET Femme fashions forecast velvet for fall and winter wear. Which should give you hint that department and dress stores will be giving their windows over to prominent display of this material about time that film is released. Hop down and see display managers about giving show plug in this manner, using stills of Claire Dodd or Wini Shaw. You'll probably suggest copy along this order: “Velvet Gowns— As Delightfully Exciting As ‘The Case of the Velvet Claws’ now at the Strand.” e vv shwrue eral abe v wiv BIG NATIONAL BOOK TIE-UP Grosset & Dunlop, well-known publishers, are putting over a swell promotion campaign to help sell this picture. Bookstores all over the country are being sent material for window and counter displays, all of which plugs your show. We advise you to drop over to local dealers right away to make sure you get the most out of this campaign. And if you want to do something on your own, you might print bookmarks for them to distribute to their customers. For any fur ther Son ar a tirap> wiritnte Mr. E. Edelson c/o GROSSET & DUNLAP 1140 Broadway, New York City LADY IN VELVET STROLLS If you can lay your hands on good-looking, Statuesque brunette, rig her up in long clinging velvet gown and get her a set of long artificial nails on Chinese mandarin type. When she patrols main drags handing out show’s heralds, folks get gander at her nails . . . which puts ’em in the mood for film. FOR RENT: LOBBY ART You don’t have to spend big money on your display accessories. Under this new RENTAL arrangement, you can now fill your complete requirements in lobby and front displays. Displays are available to you no matter where your theatre is located and regardless of its size. And remember — they are shipped to ycuea ly enough to make adadvance selling possible. e@ Write for details to: AMERICAN DISPLAY CO., Inc. 525 West 43rd St. New York All rights reserved. Copyright is waived to magazines and newspapers.