Showmen's Trade Review (1939)

August 26, 1939 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Page 19 AS WE were writing this Showmanalysis the vicinity around the Capitol Theatre here in New York was a mass of humanity. At 5 .30 in the morning, mind you, people had started to collect, so that by 8 :45, the time scheduled for the opening, it was necessary to stop selling tickets. Police reserves were called oilt. So that those waiting in line would not have to stop at the box office to bu}' their tickets, ushers were doing cashier duty along the lengthy line of waiting customers extending around the corner on 51st street to 8th avenue. This is indisputable proof that MGM's Technicolor special, "The Wizard of Oz" has infinite box office possibilities wherever it plays. Seldom do we ever make predictions, but in this instance we feel certain that, backed by real showmanship, you're going to have the biggest crowd in front of your theatre trying to gain admission to see this film than you've had in a long, long time. It may be that you will experience a recordbreaking engagement. But in any event, it is well to remember right now that a full schedule of exploitation activities planned for a picture that looms as a "natural" will be a definite movement in the direction of SRO business. An Adventure Known to All Famous in fiction and celebrated on the American stage, "The Wizard of Oz" is an adventure known to everyone. Your audience will be eager to see it brought to the screen; to see the story portrayed by living actors. MGM has prepared a series of teaser ads that'll take any reader's eye, and the series leads up to a large display embodying all the teasers, thus reminding those who may have seen only one or two of the teasers that this — "The Wizard of Oz" — is what all the shouting is about. We would suggest that at least three weeks in advance, you underline your regular ads with selling copy on "Oz." Try to plant as many stories and scene cuts in the daily paper as you possibly can. Run a teaser trailer for one week, then for the next two weeks prior to the opening whet their appetites by screening the beautiful Technicolor trailer. We've seen this trailer, by the way, and in our opinion it does a smash selling job. Do your posting well in advance. Get a plentiful supply of all styles and sizes of posters, and plaster all available spots with them. Tack up window cards wherever you can, and stick 'em in windows. Order the life-size cutouts of the various characters from your MGM exchange, and stand them in your lobby, in hotel lobbies, restaurants, Famed Adventure Loved By Everyone Is Worthy Of Elaborate Campaign stores, etc., — anywhere you know they will be seen by large numbers of people. Well, by this time, the old town ought to be pretty well reminded that "The Wizard of Oz" is on its way to your theatre. But you're not through yet. As a matter of fact, you're just beginning. For, despite the fact that one of the biggest national magazine advertising campaigns ever used on a picture has been placed on the schedule for "Oz," and in spite of your own advance teaser ad, trailers and posters, you've got to follow up with smash exploitation. You can order a complete set of stills from the exchange which tell the story, reveal the magical wonders to be seen in the film. There are 22 of them. Use them for one giant display, or place them around the walls of the lobby and foyer in sequence, with a sign directing the patron to begin at the first picture and go on until he has seen the entire group. They'd be good for a vacant window, too. Coloring contests are always good, no matter how many times you stage them. And the advertisements, or the sketches shown in the exploitation section of the press book, can be utilized for this purpose. There is no need to go into detail on this, because you can formulate your own rules for such a contest. It's the characters that will attract the attention of every entrant. And that reminds us that you can have separate sheets printed for each character, with prizes offered for those who bring in complete sets, colored or not, as you choose. Colored, however, would be best. That "The Wizard of OZ" is the "magic show of shows"; that it is "a triumph in Technicolor"; that it is full of "magical wonders" are facts brought out in the advertisements prepared by MGM for exhibitors. Emphasized, too, are the characters, played by a "real live cast." Reproduced above is one of the layouts, of which there are all sorts and shapes. This one for example is seven columns wide and about 10 inches deep, dimensions seldom used in advertising layouts. Here's something to interest both adults and children. It concerns the title, of course. Offer prizes for the longest list of words containing the letter "z." It is not necessary that they begin with the letter, but it must be used at least once in each word. Specify that only words found in the dictionary (whichever one you choose as a guide) can be used. Another contest would consist of listing words with both "s" and "z" ; that is, using "s" when it sounds like "z" as in — well, "as." Such words as "organize," "rise," "size," "enterprise," etc., could have the "s" and "z" interchanged, with the contestant being required to correctly spell the words. Of course, since dictionaries are always available, the contest might be too simple unless it is accompanied by some special requirement, such as writing a short essay, coloring a sketch, etc. And here's another stunt. Publish the pictures of the cast members in their characterizations, and then invite artists and cartoonists to draw "straight" drawings from the charac Produced by Mervyn LeRoy. Directed by Victor Fleming. Screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf. ter sketches. In the case of Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Billie Burke, it won't be so difficult ; but with Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Margaret Hamilton — well, that's a different story. Soap sculpturing contests have been staged by many of the soap manufacturers. With its principal characters, "The Wizard of Oz" is particularly appropriate for a competition of this kind. You can tie up with a local soap jobber to sponsor it in connection with the newspaper and local grocers. Whether you confine it to adults or children matters not; the main thing is that it's good exploitation. Get permission from several prominent local individuals to take their photographs and, by having an artist make caricatures out of them to represent the characters in the picture, you can publish them in the newspapers or place them in windows around town, with the public invited to guess the identity of the character. Be sure, however, that vou get permission, first. MGM has prepared four large oil paintings for display in your lobby. They serve not only to impress the magical wonders of the picture, but also remind the public of the Technicolor angles. There are title streamers, hangers, deluxe lobby photos, — everything you need for an elaborate, colorful and magnetic lobby and front. Remembering the lucky number stunt used on "Tarzan Finds a Son," in which buttons with numbers were passed out to kiddies, lucky numbers receiving free admission to see the picture, why not stage a similar stunt for this one? Organize a "Wizard of Oz" Club, and distribute buttons to all the kids in town. Then post the lucky numbers in the lobby. Every boy or girl with a luckynumbered button gets to see the picture gratis.