Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

October 7, 1939 S H O W MEN'S T R A D E REVIEW Page 19 U-BOAT 29 TimQliness of tke Story Makes It Easy to Exploit PUBLICITY stories on Columbia's UBoat 29, will ahnost look like news stories of the war in Europe today. For that reason, you have a picture that is almost miraculously easy to sell. What we write today may be entirely different tomorrow but as we write the Germans have already started their ruthless campaign of submarine warfare in the second World War. Since this is an exact repetition of what happened in the first World War and which is portrayed in "U-Boat 29," the picture, as you can readily see is most timelj'. To capitalize on this timeliness there are several interesting ideas. First of all, whenever you play a newsreel which depicts any phase of submarine warfare, insert a special trailer right after this shot pointing out that "U-Boat 29" coming to your theatre portrays these scenes graphically. The trailer might have copy reading "Flash! More vivid scenes of submarines in action Screenplay by Eneric Pressburger. Based on a story by J. Storer Clouston. Scenario by Roland Pertwee. Directed by Michael Powell. coming to this theatre soon in 'U-Boat 29'." Have your trailer ready for instant insertion in the newsreel. You are practically certain of having some scenes of submarine survivors or other shots of undersea boats in your newsreels before you play the picture. Locate any local people who were on a ship torpedoed by a submarine either in this war or the last one; they can be either passengers or members of the crew. Such a person could get up on the stage in advance of your showing and tell of his experiences. Put War Map in Lobby Put a war map up in your lobby a couple of weeks in advance of your showing. On this map place a headline from a newspaper telling of any sinking by a submarine. In a couple of weeks your map will be quite full and it will be a standout lobby display. There is a four-column mat with five illustrations showing just how a submarine sights its prey, fires its torpedoes and watches the victim go down. This should be a cinch to plant with newspaper editors with things as they are. For newspapers are still smarting under the censorship which has been clamped on all pictures from abroad. This four-column drawing gives as clear a picture as any editor could want of what is going on. The caption need merely say that the illustration was furnished by you and that it was taken from "U-Boat 29." imprint Front Pages Another stunt to tie up the picture with front pages of today's newspapers is to bu3' or better still promote, a supply of newspapers and imprint them in red with huge block letters reading "U-Boat Torpedoes Giant Liner — For details see 'U-Boat 29" at the Strand." Leather-lunged newsboys shouting these lines and handing out the papers gratis on prominent street corners will go far toward selling the attraction. A display board on which you have mounted headlines telling of the activity of submarines in the present war should be in your lobby. On top of this in big block letters you can have your house artist paint copy about your show. Since the periscope is the eye of a submarine, you can rig one up in your lobby, through which patrons can see stills of the picture. The periscope can be made from prisms arranged in a galvanized iron tube. The object end extends into a closed box where lighted stills are displayed. A beaver board background around this display painted with metallic silver would give the realistic impression of the inside of a submarine. A real periscope can also be rigged up with a tube and mirrors. Fix it so it looks over the top of the box office or the marquee or around a corner in the lobby. This would be a real attention getter and certainly worth while. Put Over Spy Angle Since the story deals with spies, it would be a good idea to have some kind of novelty which puts this idea across. One suggestion is to have a message written in reverse as though on a blotter. This would contain copy about the picture and the playdates and can be seen by the reader when held up to a mirror. To heighten the mysterious idea back of these messages, they could be rolled up and inserted in a capsule which in turn could be inserted in a small envelope. The latter could have copy on it reading for Entertainment." Spy codes and cryptograms have interested lots of people in peacetime and so it is logical to assume that there is even more interest in such things now. You can supply your editor with a crytograph used in "U-Boat 29" which comes in mat form. It makes a good illustration for a puzzle page and directly ties in with the picture. The radio these days is full of war news. And in every one of these broadcasts appears some description of U-Boat activities. So arrange with your local station to mention the picture and the theatre just after a news broadcast. If necessary, it would be worth while to buy the necessary time for such a spot announcement. The announcement could state that the picture depicts graphically exactly how the U-Boat works. Mysterious Man For Ballyhoo For a ballyhoo have a man dressed in a long flowing Inverness cape, black suit and black slouch hat. Have him parade the downtown streets during the day bearing the sign "I am the Spy In Black. But I meet my match in . . ." Valerie Hobson plays the part of a spy in the picture, so you can have posters printed with the large word "WANTED" emblazoned on it. Others can state that she is a spy and that she is dangerous. How dangerous can be discovered in "U-Boat 29" at the Strand. These cards you can tack up on telegraph poles, trees, fences, etc. Just one word of caution. Don't emphasize the horror angle of U-Boat warfare. The war is bad enough as it is without stressing the horrors of it in a motion picture. So steer clear of the gruesome angles as far as you can. But start off your campaign with a bang and keep it banging all the way through. As long as the war continues, the picture will continue to be timely no matter how late 5'our playdate may be. All the ads employ the timeliness angle. Note that the illustrations are especiall/ appealing at this time when the public is starved for pictures of the war. These ads promise the thrills of submarine warfare.