The White Cockatoo (Warner Bros.) (1935)

Vote On Best Mystery Your club might have a voting contest to determine the ten best mystery stories published. (Be sure to include a Clue Clubber among the winners.) Story looks good for a newspaper break and _ will make tie-ups and window displays a cinch with local book shops. Stories can display the ten winners including a mention of the Club and the current Clue Club attraction. Crime Reporters After club has been formed, it might start off with a bang by awarding a prize to the reporter who, in the past year, has written the best stories of a major crime. Only local reporters are eligible, so that all papers will help with the publicity while the stories are being decided upon. When the prize award is made, it should get some good breaks. Club To Solve Crime There's always some national or local crime that’s got the cops stopped. Everyone's got a pet theory. Ask the Chief if he'll accept suggestions from the Club. With his ‘okay’, present details to your gang and have ‘em write their theories. Relay ‘em to Headquarters and write a story on the stunt. It’s our thought that the paper’ll consider it newsworthy} Clue Game Contest Look for description of the six-day ‘Clue Game Contest’ elsewhere in this section. If you con't plant it in the newspaper, you can use the contest during meetings of your Club. If the Club takes to it, it might become a regular feature of the meetings with members supplying the ‘stickers’. If you do plant it, be sure all your members enter the contest. Opening Nite Gag On opening nites of Clue Club flickers, you can add an . impressive note to the layout by roping off part of your orchestra with a sign: ‘Reserved for members of the Clue Club.” Your ushers should stress the point in guiding patrons to their seats. Club members will eat up the extra attention. And the notoriety might get you some new members. ACTIVITIES co YOUR CLUB'S Local Crime Wave? If your town is in the throes of a big local crime, or a national one, suggest that the Police Commissioner or Chief of Detectives appoint most active members of Club as Deputy officers or Deputy Detectives. This should have some publicity value and you can probably plant some stories on the stunt in the paper. And if one of the birds should solve it —Boy! your club is madel Book Markers Since most of the Clue Club pictures are taken from books, why not have bookmarks made up locally, listing the series and including theatre plug. Book shops, public and circulating libraries will be glad to get ‘em free of charge. They'll insert ‘em in their mystery novels. And your plug reaches the mystery fans—the boys and gals you're shooting after. Scrap-Book Contest This contest calls for your members to save all newspaper articles on unsolved crimes committed from opening date of one Clue Club picture to opening. of the next film oi the group. Prizes or ducats can be awarded to the member submitting the most complete scrap book. You might limit the clippings to murder, or any other type of crime. Paper might be tied in, tool Rudio. Sketch Gast If you've had any trouble getting a cast together for presenting the radio dramatizations, the difficulty should be solved on these. Recruit the cast from Clue Club members. If you can't get radio time the playlet might be done at one of the Club's meetings, ' with an invited audience of family and friends. Details on radio sketch will be found elsewhere in this press sheet. ecoeoecrweoeevsveeeese : é : ; Anti-Crime Campaign For breaks in paper, spot stories to the effect that the Clue Club has started an anticrimé campaign and that members are doing all they can to help police curb crime. If any member should happen to, prove an actual aid to the police, this story Will prove to be a swell lead-off. All this Gomes under the head of building good-will — and the more the better] Guessing Film’s End For a gag, try special showings of the Clue Club films for your outfit. Stop the film just before the solution is given. If they're stuck, it'd be a good idea to send out a story on the theme: “93% of the Clue Club members of the Strand Theatre couldn’t solve this mystery. Can you?” Use line for ads and lobby. Story-Telling Nite As .a special social function for members and their friends, plan a Mystery or Ghost Story-Telling Nite. Members, adept at story-telling, recite | their favorites. Entire house should be dark except for a baby spot on the narrator. Original stories are most desirable, but if talent runs out, some of Poe's tales will keep ‘em awake nights. You might make a contest of the idea. Police Heroes A prize might be awarded every month to the policeman or detective who has nabbed the most criminals or made the most heroic arrest during the month. Same stunt was used by the N. Y. Daily News, pictures and news stories about the winning cop cracking front page. No reason why your award shouldn't make the papers, giving the Clue Club a break at the same time. Solution Contest After showings of Clue Club pictures, you can ask members _ to tell what might have hap pened if picture’s final clue was not discovered. This would necessitate members making up their own clues and writing a different climax and ending to story. Stunt can be worked as contest with pro moted prizes. Can also be Clue Club News A mimeographed “Clue Club News” can be run off cheaply, using material like publicity stories on the Club, stories on coming Clue Club flickers, minutes of Club meetings, and announcements of features for future meetings. An adept member of your gang might even write some original mystery stories for the sheet. And if there’s an artist among ‘em, have him make a few cartoons. ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS WILL BE INCLUDED IN FUTURE PRESSSHEETS ON THIS SERIES Literary Mock Trials Clue Club chapters can interest new members by holding a mock trial in which local legal lights try ‘suspects’ in the mystery story, play or picture which is up for discussion. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” was unfinished, when its author, Charles Dickens, died. Each year in London, lawyers hold a mock trial, using the clues given in the book. The idea is good—we think] Discuss The Crimes Many important murder and criminal cases have been dismissed by the courts for lack of evidence. Some member or members can get the full details of such a case and present it to the Club during a meeting. The outfit can then be asked to give their solutions and opinions of the methods used by the police. Again, if you get anything worth while, police will be grateful. P She eee50ee8 8 &© & &© &@ @ @ Invite Local Coppers There should be some detectives or police officers.in your town who've figured in some prominent mystery cases. See if you can get ‘em down to the meetings to tell your gang might be a good idea to make the sleuths honorary members of the Clue Club and the dicks. might be persuaded to make your members ‘deputy-detectives.’ More details elsewhere. Junior Auxiliary A junior group, operating through the Boy Scouts, Y.M. C.A., or other youthful organizations, is suggested for direct kid appeal. It would maintain the dignity of the parent organization because the kids wouldn't interfere with their meetings and yet would keep your kiddie trade interested in the series. Their activities can be varied from the older groups, at your discretion. e©eeeeeee#e%e%¢@#e @ “Club” Column Your editor might give you a weekly column in his paper, to be called “Clue Club News” or ‘Week's Mystery News.” To be written by members, it should include comments on crimes of national interest, reviews of mystery books, and of course, reports of Club attractions, and reviews of Clue Club pictures. All the publicity you need will be in this and future Clue Club press books. r ® r) r r ° ® 3 ry ® @ r FY a 5 r) r) ® e * e ® © e ® a 9 « és e e ® Py Py e about their ‘adventures. It ® e ° * e r P) ® e * . ® r * e r e e e ® e ° ° ° e : e e e r ® ° * * ° eee eeeee © © @ @ bd * Page Five