Publix Opinion (May 9, 1930)

PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF MAY 9th, 1930 SELLING “SUCH MEN ARE DANGEROUS” By GLENDON ALLVINE Advertising Manager, Fox Films (Not For Publication) “Such Men Are Dangerous” is Elinor Glyn’s first movietone love drama. There’s a good selling angle. Play up: / (1) Elinor Glyn. Celebrated author of “Three Weeks” and “‘It.’”’ As well known to movie fans as to the book-reading public. ‘Such Men Are Dangerous” is adapted from the sensational Cosmopolitan Magazine story of the same title. Love. “A sensational love drama by the woman who invented ‘it’.’ Or: “And now Elinor Glyn tells you all about masculine Sree Warner Baxter and the beautiful Catherine Dale Owen. Miss Owen is now playing the feminine lead in “‘The Rogue Song.” The exchange set of stills contains some striking love poses. The general class of the production. The story is set against luxurious backgrounds of London society. The sets and costumes are magnificent. The fashionable wedding ceremony in the opening sequence is performed with all the pomp and splendor of the Church of England. The elaborate society bazaar is another scene of entrancing beauty. <A’ Bor eecue Cinderella ballet is in troduced in this scene. ‘What to avoid: (1) Don’t tell the story in too much detail. It concerns an ugly tyrannical millionaire whose beautiful young bride deserts him on their wedding night. As part of a plan for revenge he disappears mysteriously from an airplane while flying over the English Channel and is picked up by a launch. Under an assumed name he undergoes a plastic surgery operation and in his new guise of a handsome dashing, young society man, makes ardent love to his own wife. His moment of revengeful triumph comes, but in the end he surrenders to her charm and beauty—and her love. (Don’t tell even as much as that. Stress the love angle in a general way, without telling the plot.) Don’t refer to its beingbased on the much-publicized Lowenstein case. Don’t play up Kenneth Hawks, the director, who was among those lost while filming the airplane sequence. The story broke the front pages of newspapers everywhere. No need to revive the public’s memory of the tragedy or to identify the picture as such, (4) Don’t play up Warner Baxter as the homely, repulsive, millionaire. The dual role makes superb drama on the screen. But straight heads of Baxter as his handsome, natural self will sell the tickets. It’s a big, lavish production. plenty of “‘it.”’ It’s smoothly staged and brilliantly ‘acted. going after with a real campaign. ielieeeieinieiebieh eeieieieiteioteteiieiooioi? Se oe oe i i hk ik SHORT REVIEWS OF SHORT FEATURES By LOUIS NOTARIUS Publix Theatres Booking Department PARAMOUNT j COME TAKE A TRIP IN MY AIRSHIP (6 min.) One of the cleverest Song Cartoons made to date. Will undoubtedly give 100% sat isfaction. Moves fast, full of gags and entertains from start ' to finish. A good subject as the closing number of a front show. ‘TIDE RISES (9 min.) is superior to those that preceded it. Moves fast and sustains the interest with a dramatic story which is worked in to sym bolize the movements of the running waters. If spotted right, will add both class and entertainment to program. / METRO BELOW ZERO (21 min.) Laurel & Hardy is synonymous with hon est-to-goodness hokum comedy. In ‘‘Below Zero’’ they do not ‘fail us. It is a laugh from beginning to end. To attempt to give a word picture of their antics is futile. All that can be said, is that the comedians portray a couple of street musicians playing and singing ‘In The Good Old Summer Time” in a ‘blinding snowstorm. What they get in return is not hard to imagine! The subject may be booked blind but you'll not go wrong. All you need do is to advertise the names ‘‘Laurel & Hardy” and the result will be 100% entertainment. Sure fire. FIFTY MILLION HUSBANDS (20 min.) Imagine yourself ‘‘Charlie Chase”’ peacefully sitting in your apartment. Suddenly a knock is heard on the door and in comes a robust, sentimental indi vidual who tells you that all that is dear to him originated in your furnished flat. He weeps at the changes made in the decorations and re-arrangement of furniture and has the ef frontery to move things about to suit his own tastes. On top of that, in comes his estranged wife, who also goes thru the ‘game procedure. Imagine yourself trying to console this brok en-hearted dame when suddenly the husband pounces upon you from another room with accusations of vile intentions toward his wife. Well, if that wouldn’t get your goat, it got Charlie’s, who began to shoot ’em up, and, incidentally, awakened a funny Irish copper, who capers about frantically trying to detect what he thinks to be a murder. Well, that is the short and long of the story! It moves fast with its nonsensical hokum. A come dy which will get many laughs and has definite elements of en tertainment. Good for any house and will contrast well with a straight. dramatic feature. VITAPHONE 367 6—AND WIFE (10% min.) A comedy with Frank Davis and Ber nice Elliott. It deals with the domestic relationship of a di vorced husband who is about to marry another girl. How he accidentally finds himself in a hotel room with his former wife and how a reconciliation is brought about, are cleverly por trayed. Interesting dialogue and humorous situations make this an entertaining short subject. Somewhat different and should go over. f 3740—CHRISTMAS KNIGHT (7 min.) A snappy short dramatic sub ject with such old timers as Bryant Washburn, Helen Jerome Eddy and Charles B. Middleton. It is presented in. three scenes. Middleton is a crook who! overhears the love-making of a cou ple, victims of Wall Street, but yet able to enjoy the xmas spirit. Another couple, rich in worldly goods, find Xmas boring because of their greed. for more wealth. The crook, after hold ing up the latter, gives them a piece of his mind in a philo sophie vein, takes their dough, and leaves it in the room of the poverty-stricken pair, with his greetings. Somewhat maudlin in sentiment but ee Will make a good subject for (2) It has class, color, sophistication and It’s worth Another Bruce Seenie which in many respects MANY LEADERS! ARE CREATED IN CAMPAIGN (Continued from Page One) tual figures attained in the various operations. Standings Revealed The manager of every theatre knows what his own figures are; what he does not know is how the result which he has obtained (whether he has exceeded his quota or failed to reach it) compares with the result attained by the other fellow with whom he is in competition. This the publication of these figures will reveal, so far as the leaders are concerned. The published figures reveal the actual positions of individual the atres, each within its own division. As a matter of general interest, and looking at the race as one between divisions—which, of course, it is not—the figures as of April 26th reveal Milton Feld’s division ““A”’? as the leader by a slight margin over J. Balaban’s Chicago and Detroit operations. J. B. Carroll’s Ohio-Kentucky group was in third place at the date given and A. Mayer’s Central Division was in fourth. Fitzgibbon’s division, New York and New England, came fifth in the standing; and the Koerpel-Wilby Southeastern operations sixth at the end of the first four weeks in April. These divisions were very closely followed by those controlled by Jules Rubens, Schneider, E. Ruben, Friedl, Walsh and Crabill in the order named. The closeness of standings, from a divisional viewpoint, would indicate that each succeeding week will bring changes in this line-up. But as the contest is entirely for standings within the divisions, the real interest centers in the individual standings of the theatres and the districts, and -|these are shown in detail in the published list. It must be understood that the compilation of figures and the working out of standings in this national contest is indeed a huge undertaking. ‘This would be true for the many groups of theatres which in the aggregate total the huge number included in the Publix circuit, even were it not a fact that in addition to the simple if lengthy task of compilation itself were not added the many special considerations which must be brought to bear before profit percentages can possibly be worked out on an equitable basis. Impartial Comparison It is because of these many considerations that it is not deemed practicable to publish the actual figures at this time but to present instead standings based on the figuses at hand. The standings given are those as of close of business, April 26th, and include the four first weeks of the Second Quarter. Every effort has been made to secure a correct and impartial result in the estimation of every one of these relative standings. The management must reserve the right to make corrections or changes in these standings as necessity for so doing becomes apparent. The desire to attain absolute fairness in arriving at results in this contest has been the determining factor in this setup and has ‘roll. SELLING ‘THE DEVIL’S HOLIDAY’ By RUSSELL HOLMAN, Advertising Manager, Paramount Pictures (Not For Publication) First, see the picture for yourself. you on how important it is. you’ve got, as it deserves, and Then nobody will have to sell Then you'll get after it with everything ~ i you won’t have a feeling after — it’s gone that your box office only got a part of what it should have — : had. “The Devil’s Holiday”’ marks the birth of one of the screen’s fore most dramatic stars. She’s none other than Nancy Carroll, hitherto ~ ““Sweetie’’ and ‘‘Honey,’’ a former musical comedy actress. is amazing and unbelievable until you see the picture. Her work On the basis © of this picture, the studio is completely changing its plans with Ca She’s a big hit in musical comedy; but she’s so tremenously _ bigger in drama that hereafter she’ll be starred in dramas only That alone should give you a tip on the importance of ‘The Devil's Holiday’’! She was a revelation even to the studio! The picture was written and produced by Edmund Goulding, who wrote and produced ‘‘The Trespasser.”’ Trespasser.”’ It’s every bit as big as “‘The It has the same popular box office ingredients, the same uncannily real and gripping way of putting them over, the same type of down-to-earth dramatic story. This man Goulding has a remarkable ability to inspire player to heights you never thought they could touch. In addition to Carroll Phillips Holmes (leading man), Hobart Bosworth, James Kirkwood andl the others in the swell cast do work that will simply knock au diences off their pins. After seeing “‘The Devil’s Holiday,” the hard boiled lads who review pictures in the home office walked out of the © projection room stirred to the ends of their toes and handing out the kind of raves that only masterpieces get. x Getting this feeling over to the public is no cinch. MHere’s some — suggested copy: The dramatic high spot of 1930 has been reached! Holiday”’! “Sweetie” has grown up! ating as ever. truly great dramatic star. in a theatre before! “The Devil’ She’s sweet and pretty, flip and fascin But now she’s an amazing revelation as a serious an She’ll stir you as you’ve never been stirred — Come and get the treat of your life. Nancy © Carroll in ‘The Devil’s Holiday,’ written and produced by the man + who made ‘The Trespasser,”’ ia Hallie Hobart—big city manicurist—dimpled dynamite—profes sional good girl—pretty lady of prey—-men were her game and sh ‘played them to a fare-thee-well—cynically, light-heartedly—saints and sinners alike—Good Time Hallie—then a young wheat millionaire fell ” for her alluring but caleulated smiles—and Hallie went after his — bulging pocket-book with a will—what’s the difference if she grabbed a his heart too—married him for a thrill and a fortune—but HE wa different—and, to her own amazement, so was she—what happene next ?—what blotted the wise smiles from Hallie’s pretty face?—what clutched her, robbed life of; its gaudy tinsel and made A WOMAN of © her?—-what’s this thing that has made NANCY CARROLL one of the © screen’s most gripping dramatic stars and started the whole natio talking about her new picture, “T won’t let you ruin my boy. never come back!’’ “come back’’ instead. “THE DEVIL’S HOLIDAY’’? and see and hear and enjoy the thrill of a lifetime! Le And she took it with a cynical laugh. gayety, millionaires, danced before her expectant eyes. On her knees. Come Go away aa j Paris, — But she did Begging for love. See th Here’s $50,000. amazingly new and greater Nancy Carroll in ‘“‘The Devil’s Holiday. Heaven in her eyes and a devil in her heart. If you like ‘‘The Trespasser,’’ you’ll rave about “The Devil's | 2 Holiday,’’ written and directed by the same man and starring a new — and greater Nancy Carroll. Nancy Carroll.starts out like ‘‘Sweetie’? and ends up like Sarah Bernhardt. ES A picture so strong, so different, so heart-breakingly REAL that all the world will wonder! Exploitation: Day. Fourth of July. this ‘‘The Devil’s Holiday’’? Use various holidays on the calendar. Labor Day.. a Decoration — a Write in script after each: Is — a Avoid all pictures of devils, red and otherwise, in your advertis— ing. They sell nothing, except mineral water. On the other hand, the a stills on this picture are particularly good. Sell Carroll—the new Carroll. “The Trespasser.”’ Above all, see the picture before you start to sell it, See the cast. Sell Goulding anda a ace erecta nese arena roe ae AACR ER NA RRR AN RATNER Ne é governed every decision made. Every contestant in the Publix circuit must get a 100 percent fair break —that is the one rule from which there has been no variation. “The month of April, generally speaking,’’ says Mr. Chatkin, again referring to the opportunities afforded every element of man power in these campaigns, “‘shows up about twenty-five percent behind anticipated results, in other words, just that much behind quotas, This deficit has to be made up and in addition to that we have to forge. ahead and establish profit income well in advance of the figures set and with which every theatre man the holidays and should be used with a comedy feature as contrast. 3829—-THE SOUTH.SEA PEARL (8 min.) In this technicolor flash we find Gaston Glass in the role of a lover. The scene is a South Sea dance hall. With this as background, we find a beautiful dance hall girl risking her life to save a pearl diver and his pearls. Charlotte Merriam assists Glass in the dramatic moments, while a score of dancing girls, musicians, and natives serve the music. The coloring is unusually good and aids materially in the presentation of a subject which will give first class entertainment. May close any front show. PATHH FOWL & FUN (10 min.) A Sportlight with David Newell— the famous writer and hunter. It portrays the hunting of quail and turkeys in a most realistic manner. With the dense woods as background, we see the lovers of nature rising early one morning and going out with the dogs to get their breakfast. The details portrayed in ten minutes are an interesting lesson in the art of catching this palatable food. The scenic beauty plays an important part in holding the attention. A worthwhile novelty on any program. FISH, ager, district manager and division — officer is thoroughly familiar. é Hard Work “The greatest ingenuity must be displayed in order to attain th result, It will not be accomplish— ed without hard work! Again [I say, that out of this necessity, 0 of this great call for constructiv leadership we will get new cap-— Bt tains—and new generals, too, for that matter—to blaze the way in the onward march of progress upon which Publix Theatres circuit is so definitely and irresistibly — launched. 4 “T think it is only right that at — this time I should repeat a warning which was voiced at the convention in Chicago and which pe haps has not been sufficiently e phasized. I refer to the dang of misrepresenting profits through the manipulation of accumulative expenses. All bills must be paid! “Unpaid bills will not only disqualify the manager of the the© atre which has accumulated such — debts, but will disqualify as well the district manager under whom that theatre operates. It therefore behooves both managers and district managers to definitely ascertain that current bills are paid — weekly —and regardless of the — showing of the theatre for the — | week, whether it be over or under the profit line.’’ Standing of theatres will be — found on the opposite page.