Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

Page 12 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW May 20, 1939 CAPTAIN FURY" Thrilling, Bold Adventure Of Australian Robin Hood Ideal Campaign Material Brian Aherne is the gallant hero oi "Captain Fury." Victor McLaglen, Virginia Field (inset) have important roles. A 1.) VENTURE and romance are the requisites of popular present-day motion picture entertainment. W'e have our problem dramas, our society dramas, our gangster thrillers and our comedies ; but somehow or other, let a fan know you're going to give him a rousing adventure story with just the right amount of romance in it, and you can bet the money you've saved up for the World's Fair that he'll be the first one at your box office to buy a ticket. As far as we can remember, Hal Roach has been almost exclusively identified with comedies. Since the old days when millions chuckled at Snub Pollard and Harold Lloyd in comedies made by Mr. Roach and released by Pathe, this prominent motion picture producer has forged ahead until today a film bearing the words "Hal Roach presents" is certain to be tip-top entertainment. That he has deviated from humor in presenting "Captain Fury" is a remarkable tribute to his genius and versatility. "Captain Fury," by the way, is, according to the press book, a "roaring adventure and rich romance of the 19th Century." It is "the story of dauntless men and brave women who migrated to the barren bush country of Australia to hew a nation out of a strange wilderness." Brian Aherne is a daring, reckless, romantic rogue — an Australian "Robin Hood." All this sounds just as fascinating to us as Here Are Your Cast and Credits Captain Furv BRIAN AHERNE Blackic VICTOR M'LAGLEN Francois Diiprc Paul Lukas Jeanettc Dupre June Lang Coughy John Carradine Arnold Trist George Zucco Preston Douglass Dumbrille Mabel Virginia Field Mergon Charles Middleton Governor Lawrence Grossmith Mr. Bailey Lumsden Hare Mrs.. Bailey Mary Gordon Boh John Warburton Suco Claud Allister Bertie Will Stanton Governor's Aide Edgar Norton Tess Bailey Margaret Roach Duffy . . Billy Bevan Danny Bailey Edwin Brian and others Presented by HAL ROACH. Released through UNITED ARTISTS. Directed by HAL ROACH. Musical Score by MARVIN HATLEY. Screenplay by GROVER JONES, JACK JEVNE, WILLIAM DeMILLE. Creg. u. s. pat. off.) it will to members of your public. And the fact that Air. Roach considered the story so important that he also took over the directorial reins should be still further proof of its entertainment merits. You have not only entertainment to sell, but names as well. Just take a look at the cast and credits box on this page if you want proof. There, you'll find, in addition to Hal Roach, the producer director, and Brian Aherne, the hero, such other box office personalities as Victor McLaglen, June Lang, Virginia Field, John Carradine, and others. Those names will look good in your advertising and on your marquee — and they'll attract patronage. Now let's get right down to business. As far as advance teaser ads are concerned, your best bet is to use the excellent catchlines contained in the regular ads, along with illustrations of Brian Aherne and Victor McLaglen and perhaps June Lang and Virginia Field for feminine interest. You could, if you wished, take other characters of history or fiction who, in saving the people from tyranny, have become virtual "Robin Hoods," and make mention of them, meanwhile leading up to the story of "Captain Fury," another "Robin Hood." Newspaper Publicity Important Advance newspaper publicity is always important. We've just been reading the stories in the publicity section of the press book, meanwhile admiring the attractive art, and it is our belief that the stories and art are interesting and appealing enough to make it worth your while to see that one of each gets in the amusement columns every day for at least two weeks before the film opens. At least, see that plenty of stories are used, beginning with shorts and gradually enlarging to feature material. You'll find, we believe, your editor will accept this material, provided you include a strong advance advertising campaign along with it, thus proving the merits of the film. After all, you can't expect to keep down to, or even go below, your usual advertising budget, and expect the newspaper to cooperate with you. Here's a newspaper or house program contest that ought to stimulate a lot of interest in "Captain Fury." The idea is to see who can submit'"" the most titles of films of the past in which the word "Captain" has been used. For instance, although you may not remember them, films have been produced with these titles : "Captain Alverez," (Vitagraph, 1917); "Captain Applejack," (Warners, 1931); "Captain Blood," (Vitagraph, 1924, and Warners, 1935) ; "Captain Calamity," (Regal, 1936) ; "Captain Careless," (FBO', 1928) ; "Captain Courtesy," (Paramount, 1915) ; "Captain FlvBy-Night," (FBO, 1922) ; "The Captain Hates the Sea," (Columbia, 1934) ; "Captain Hurricane," (RKO, 1935) ; "Captain January," (Principal Pictures, 1924, and 20th CenturyFox, 1936) ; "Captain Kidd. Jr.," (Artcraft Pictures, 1919) ; "Captain Kiddo," (Pathe, 1917) ; "Captain Lash," (Fox, 1929) ; "Captain of His Soul," (Triangle, 1918) ; "Captain of the Guard," (Universal, 1930) ; "Captain Salvation," (MGM, 1927) ; "Captain Swagger," (Pathe, 1928) ; "Captain Swift," (Vitagraph, 1920); "Captain Thunder," (Warners, 1931); "A Captain's Captain," (Vitagraph, 1919) ; "Captains Courageous," (MGM, 1937) ; "The Captain's Kid," (Warners, 1936 and 1937) — well, we could go on like this, but we'll stop. Anyway, there are different methods by which you can conduct this contest. First, and most difficult, in our opinion, would be to ask fans to name as many pictures as possible with the word "Captain" in their titles. There may be some rabid movie fans and oldtimers who through the years have maintained a scrap book or who have a memorv strong enough to enable them to list the majority of titles we've given you here. But their number will be very few, in our opinion. So, perhaps you can do it this way, which makes it a contest of wits. List all the titles, dis mtmmmww aherne McLaglen ^ ■-■ fW» n^'T-^ PAUL LUMSCEORCE zucco •ogtuuDUM«UUE.vi««u FIELDS It's a Colorful Poster The six-sheet, which in spite of the fact that it can only be reproduced here in black and white, is a colorful poster suitable for a cutout for your lobby o: as an attention-getting advertising medium to be posted on every available board.