Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

FOR BETTER SHOW SELLING Showmanalyses Have Appeared In STR on Following Pictures Babes In Anns This Issue Beau Geste Sept. 16 Bridal Suite June 3 Coast Guard Aug. 5 Each Dawn I Die Aug. 19 Elsa Maxwell's Hotel For Women Aoag. 5 Eternally Yours This Issue Four Feathers Aug. 5 Golden Boy Sept. 2 Goodbye Mr. Chips July 29 Honeymoon In Bali Sept. 30 In Name Only Aug. 19 Intermezzo, A Love Story Sept. 23 I Stole a Million July 29 Juarez Tune 10 Lady of the Tropics Aug. 12 Man About Town July 1 Man in the Iron Mask July 15 Mutiny in the Big House Sept. 30 Nurse Edith Cavell Sept. 30 Old Maid Sept. 2 On Borrowed Time July 15 Our Leading Citizen Aug. 12 Rains Came Sept, 16 Stanley and Livingstone Aug, 12 Star Maker Aug. 29 Tarzan Finds A San June 24 They Shall Have Music Aug. 29 Three Sens Oct. 7 Thunder Afloat Sept. 23 U-Eoat 29 Oct. 7 UnderPup Sept. 9 When Tomorrow Comes Aug. 12 Winter Carnival July 29 Wizard of Oz Aug. 29 Women, The Sept. 9 Young Mr, Lincoln June 10 Guy Martin Creates a Notable Campaign on Ginger Rogers Film Elaborate window displays in the town's leading department stores featured the exploitation arranged by Guy Martin, manager of the Colfax Theatre, South Bend, Ind., for "Bachelor Mother." Other features included giant attraction cards, surrounded with black and white stills, crediting attraction, theatre and playdate in the main lobbies of the Oliver, Hoffman and LaSalle Hotels; Walgreen's, the town's night club and after theatre dining place, featured a Bachelor Mother Lunch. All employes wore a satin badge on which was inscribed, "Try a Bachelor Mother lunch and see Ginger Rogers and David Niven in 'Bachelor Mother' at the Colfax"; distribution of 5,000 napkins to the leading restaurants crediting "Bachelor Mother," theatre and playdate and special stories and art layouts in ten suburban and country newspapers. Winners Announced In Ward's Contest on Warner's "jane Arden" The Ward Baking Company has selected four exhibitors as winners of fifty dollar prizes for the best displays created in connection with the showing of the Warner Bros.' "Jane Arden" productions. The four winners are: j H. C. Rhyan of the Times Theatre, Wau! kegan, 111.; Ben Greenberg of the Stadium ; Theatre, Woonsocket, R. I.; Julius Lamm of the Uptown Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio, and J. B. Shuman of the Empress Theatre, Jackj sonville, Fla. \ The prizes were awarded for the best displays combining the film, comic strip, and radio character of Jane Arden, in conjunction with the products of the Ward Baking Company. Auto Industry Will Back Detroit Premiere of "Disputed Passage" For the first time in history, the motion picture and automobile industries will join hands in staging the world premiere of a film on Thursday, October 19, when "Disputed Passage" will open at the Michigan Theatre, Detroit Mich., with the biggest civic celebration seen by Detroit in years. This announcement was made today by H. William Klare, head of the Detroit World Premiere Committee, recently formed by civic, industrial and social leaders of the Michigan city to sponsor the premiere of "Disputed Passage." As a prelude to the premiere of "Disputed Passage," leaders of Detroit's automotive industry will stage a "sneak preview" of the new 1940 models of motor cars. Ninety per cent of the auto manufacturers have arranged to give the first public showing of the new cars in a "glittering parade of stars and cars" the day of the film opening. After the parade and just before the premiere of "Disputed Passage," the 1940 cars will be placed on display in front of the Michigan Theatre where the public can "preview" the new models before the opening of the Detroit Automobile Show. Detroit, fourth largest city in the United States, expects a record influx of visitors for the premiere of "Disputed Passage." Inquiry by Harvey Campbell, head of the Detroit Board of Trade, has revealed that 400,000 persons attended the premiere of "Union Pacific" in Omaha and that Waukegan. 111., a city of 25,000 population, had 100,000 visitors for the premiere of "Man About Town." Sonny Shepherd in New York Sonny Shepherd, manager of the Lincoln Theatre, Miami Beach, Florida, is visiting in New York on his annual vacation trip. SWELL PUBLICITY SCOOP Columbia recently prepared a brochure on its new Frank Capra production, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," which was mailed to newspaper editors throughout the country. So impressive was the brochure, and so handsomely bound, that Katherine Smith, drama editor, accorded it a story on the amusement page in the Washington Daily News. In addition, the paper published a two-column layout of scenes showing )ames Stewart "making the first filibuster ever to appear in a movie." Because a newspaper saw fit to devote so much space to the "fancy folder" and to the picture itself, orchids go to Columbia and especially to those who devised and published the brochure for an outstanding piece of work. Kurtzman Makes Women Pay at Leap Year "Women" Performance A gag that not only created considerable attention but also resulted in additional patronage was employed by Manager Charlie Kurtzman of the Penn Theatre, Pittsburgh, in conjunction with the showing of "The Women." To the regular schedule he added a special Sunday midnight show and advertised it as a "Leap Year Performance.'' It was explained in the ads that since the picture was about women, only the women could paj' for tickets at this particular performance. There were plenty of laughs as the gag was carried out to the limit. Men who started to pay for tickets were told to turn their money over to the ladies. Over 1,500 customers were attracted to the midnight show. In Native Costume to Greet the Star Dressed in their colorful native costumes, a group of SwedishAmerican school children joined to pay homage to Miss Incrid Bergman, Swedish film star, at the opening of her first American film, "Intermezzo," at the Radio City Music Hall, Neiv York, this week, not knowing that she had returned to Stockholm and could not receive their floral tributes. Their disappointment was eased by W. G. Van Schmus, managing director of the Music Hall, who accepted the flowers for Miss Bergman, and asked them to stay and see the picture.